Rating: 
Summary: If you read the book
Review: you will find this slow and unpleasant movie does not have the psychological tension the book had. The characters are never fully explored and developed; Meg Ryan is wooden rather than detached, Mark Ruffalo, while a bit dark, is much more likeable than dangerous, and the viewer will wonder what's up with Cornelius! I found the sex dull and gratutitous rather than obsessive and my husband, who did not read the book, thought the whole movie confusing and eventually "silly." Beware, readers of the book, this ending is different as well.
Rating: 
Summary: POSSIBLY THE MOST DIGUSTING FILM MADE IN THE NAME OF "ART"
Review: The sexually psychotic director of this film, Jane Campion, who seems intent on knocking down the last traces of civilized society as quickly as possible, has surely outdone herself with this digusting thing. Campion managed to bring the cast to their lowest possible level in record time, and I shut this one off after about twenty minutes. Don't waste a cent on this stupid, idiotic mess that lacks the slightest artistic merit, let alone erotic. There is nothing here worth seeing. It is tragic that more formerly-capable actors have found their way to Campion's guillotine.
Rating:
Summary: Cheap Thrills, Weak Plot, Twenty Years Too Late
Review: This one's a real stinker. If Meg Ryan was looking for a vehicle to turn off most of her fans, she certainly found it. I don't consider myself a prude, but the sex and violence in this film is so disgusting and gratuitous, it's hard to underrate it - Amazon needs negative stars for this one. The plot lurches along episodically for almost two hours, then out of the blue comes a "conclusion" that makes no sense whatsover. No real tension, no plot, just lots of flesh, blood, and Meg proving she can out-slut them all. Jane Campion's vision of NYC is about 20 years out of date, and thank God for that. You're left wondering why a talented actress like Meg Ryan would want to do this to her career?
Rating: 
Summary: A Daring Feat
Review: Jane Campion had the courage to transform Susanna Moore's novel IN THE CUT into one of the more challenging and risk-taking dark movies in some time. Co-writing the screenplay with Moore and directing as well, Campion shows that she knows her way around the Grand Guignol oeuvre, and the result is a terrifyingly real depiction of the madness of serial killing - well, murder - in any form. Meg Ryan is well cast as Frannie, a fragile woman who teaches English in a seamy section of New York, who is unpartnered, physically frustrated, and has a sister (Jennifer Jason Leigh) who is as opposite to her as they come. Ryan accidentally views an sex act in the basement of a bar that sets her on edge when a body part (that's right, a portion of a disarticulated dead murder victim) is uncovered in the garden by her building, and that body part belongs to the woman she viewed at the bar. She is questioned by a detective (Mark Rufallo, showing us further that his range of acting is enormous) with whom she has an approach/avoidance conflict. Ryan slowly becomes physically involved with the detective, who protects her when she is mugged. More bizarre murders occur and the suspense as to the identity of the killer mounts. The story unfolds so gradually and heinously that offering any more clues might destroy the impact of this taut thriller. Suffice it to say that Evil is not unveiled in identity until the end. The supporting roles are all handled with conviction by Nick Damici (as smarmy a cop as has ever been drawn), Kevin Bacon as a borderline sicko medical student, among many others. This is a very dark film that explores outer reaches of sensuality and death. The cinematography is brilliant in making the darkness of the city and the story radiant with composed silhouettes of buildings against harsh and mysterious skies. Not a movie for the faint of heart but for those who appreciate the macabre, this is a first rate slice (!) of it.
Rating:
Summary: A complete waste of time and money
Review: This movie is terrible! It contains nothing but sex scenes, sex talk, and a few murders going on in the background. Don't waste your money.
Rating:
Summary: A movie to see, unless you want America's Sweetheart.
Review: I actually found this to be a really good film, my only problem was that the ending didn't stay true to the ending in the novel. (Actually, I liked the ending in the movie better, these are just the type of things that bother me.) Meg Ryan actually chose a decent script and did some acting that contained depth, probably the smartest move that she has ever made. Who wants to be America's Sweetheart, anyway? I am not sure why people would think this movie is slow or lacking any kind of plot, it actually has a fairly solid foundation and thick, interesting plot points compared to most movies out there. It isn't just a serial killer flick either, it is incredibly dark and sexy. I also have an incredibly huge crush on Mark Ruffalo now, he really took charge of his character and is really, really, really sexy. The kissing scene is just as sexy as the bedroom scenes, which really says something about the atmosphere that he exudes. I really, really liked this movie.
Rating:
Summary: AWFUL!!! SIMPLY AWFUL!!!
Review: I'm a big fan of Meg Ryan's and I can't begin to tell you how awful I thought this film was. The story was too slow for one thing, and all that toilet-tongue language grossed me out. But the whole movie was gross and beneath Meg Ryan's ability to perform. I read where she wanted to get away from her "america's sweetheart" image. But my advice to her is to go back where she started. She looked like a washed-out has-been in this movie, and I always thought she was kind of cute. I'm not sure what's happening to hollywood, but I'm to the point where I look for the older video to watch any more. As for this movie, do yourself a favor and skip it. I'd give it a zero rating if that were possible.
Rating: 
Summary: ...But...it's Meg Ryan!
Review: I gave this movie a chance, and like most men who heard about it want to see it because we want to see Meg nude! She truly is a beauty and a great actress. The movie however wasn't that good, but the acting was good. You will be able to figure out who the bad guy is if you don't fall for the usual set of hangarounders the movie throws at you. Some of the women out there who have fashioned their lives around Meg Ryan being the all American White girl will probably hate it and should just what reruns of friends. Looking good Meg!
Rating: 
Summary: "Everything you knew about desire is dead wrong"
Review: Pay attention to the fact that this is the "unrated and uncut director's edition" of "In the Cut," because when you get to the part that merits this distinction you will either do a double-take or your jaw will just drop (or both). Actually, there are two scenes with added footage, but the first one is much more noticeable (and graphic). I can just imagine some Meg Ryan fan is going to pop this into the DVD player with the kiddies in the room and suddenly find themselves wishing they were watching something safe like the halftime show at the Super Bowl. You were warned. "In the Cut" is the movie where Meg Ryan gets naked, which is apparently the easiest way to refer to this 2003 film, which is directed by Jane Champion and adapted from by the director and the writer from the novel by Susanna Moore. The nudity is appropriate because Meg Ryan's character, Frannie Avery, is a sexual creature and the motivation for most of which she does in this film is sexual in nature. Besides, Frannie looks and acts differently enough from her other roles that I had no problem thinking this was Frannie naked and not Meg Ryan. You can argue that her nudity should have been in the service of a much better film (i.e., something on the level of "The Piano"), but I do not think you can fault its honesty in this film. At its core "In the Cut" is a slasher flick, but one that pays little attention to the slasher when they are doing their evil deeds. The focus is on Frannie and the way that she insists on treading into dangerous waters because apparently that is where there is really great sex. After a woman is brutally murdered and "dearticulated," Frannie meets homicide detective James Malloy (Mark Ruffalo), who is investigating the case. She thinks she has seen him and he is interested in her. He is rather crude, but it turns out he can deliver in the bedroom and the fact that Frannie is suspicious about who he really is does not matter anymore, even as the killings start coming closer to home for her. Apparently great sex or even the possibility of great sex is worth dying for in the world in which Frannie lives. The most real relationship Frannie has is with her half-sister Pauline (Jennifer Jason Leigh), and while they have some realistic and earnest talks about their sex lives, her sister only serves to enable Pauline to walk on the wild side. The relationship between Frannie and Malloy (the term "romance" does not apply) might be strange and weird but it at least feels real. The problem with "In the Cut" is in the thriller part of the equation, because the obvious answer is so obviously wrong that figuring out the mystery part is not that difficult. Fortunately the slasher part of the equation is ultimately the less important part of the story, which is a strange and weird statement to make, but watch the movie and it will make sense. Actually, the part at which I thought the film went too far was, oddly enough, a pivotal scene set at the Little Red Lighthouse beneath the George Washington Bridge. When Captain Kangaroo died I reviewed that book, because of the strong association I had with it and the beloved Captain, so seeing it as a setting in this movie was one of those things that inspired sudden visions of grave spinning. Of course, if I had seen this film a month earlier I would not have had that reaction.
Rating:
Summary: "In the Cut" belongs IN THE TOILET
Review: A good director, a good cast... how could they have messed this one up? Apparently, the producers of this movie were unaware that it's important in movies to have stuff actually HAPPEN. "In the Cut" is one of the most idiotic, most predictable, and most fatally boring movies I've ever seen. And unlike the so-bad-it's-funny-as-hell "Killing me Softly," this movie is just terrible in a very ordinary way. Ugh.
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