"While it is bold, ambitious and often striking, In The Cut isn't as incisive as it pretends to be." Nevertheless, Jane Campion's psychological thriller does star a revealing Meg Ryan, who has aroused plenty of interest in the movie. Disturbing as the film may be, the DVD exposes some of the elements that make it what it is.

Two Years Of Porn

The most arresting of these elements is Susanna Moore, writer of the novel and screenplay. In a tightly produced 'making of' featurette, she talks about the two years of solid porn, erotica, and detective literature she read to get to the stage where she could write In The Cut. No sooner are you recovering from that revelation when you discover that Mark Ruffalo spent ten months recovering from a brain tumour. Director Jane Campion picked up on his uncertainty at acting again after such a trauma and decided to capitalise on his fear to drive his performance.

First Timers

Jane Campion is joined by producer Laurie Parker for what is their first audio commentary. Both are naturals at it, and Campion sports a refreshing honesty about her work. She talks freely about elements of the film that she feels not only don't quite work, but in one case embarrasses her. She also steers clear of a mistake some directors make in commentaries, by attempting to read symbolism into their work. For Campion this is just storytelling, and with this DVD she can leave future film students in no doubt as to what she was trying to do with her project.

EXTRA FEATURES

This DVD was reviewed on a JVC XV-N5 DVD player.