In the Cut

Jane Campion’s feminist erotic thriller starring Meg Ryan and Mark Ruffalo adds a frisson of dangerous sex to a murder investigation.

Jane Campion’s boldly sensual erotic thriller sees Frannie – a writing professor – caught up in the investigation of a series of grisly murders in her New York City neighbourhood. Drawn to the homicide detective investigating the case, she discovers the dark side of passion when she embarks on a turbulent affair with him, coming to wonder if her lover is hiding a secret as the death toll rises.

Controversial and critically derided upon release, Campion’s giallo-influenced thriller (based upon the novel by Susanna Moore) is a masterful take on female desire, subjectivity, and traditional heterosexual dynamics.