‘In The Cut’ Uncut Director’s Edition Blu-Ray Review – A Visceral Psycho-Sexual Odyssey From Jane Campion

This sensual thriller features Meg Ryan (You’ve Got Mail) and Mark Ruffalo (The Avengers) in unforgettable performances as they search for a killer who knows their every move and knows they’re getting too close for comfort. In the underbelly of lower Manhattan, Frannie Avery (Ryan), a reserved English professor, becomes obsessed after seeing more than she should of an impassioned couple. After the young woman turns up dead, Frannie is questioned by a homicide detective (Ruffalo) who draws her into a liberating but disturbing erotic encounter. As the body count rises, familiar suspects begin to emerge.

For thoughts on In The Cut, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

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Video Quality

In The Cut gets a somewhat decent Blu-Ray courtesy of Mill Creek Entertainment, but with it comes some issues that could have been avoided in parts. The film was previously released by Mill Creek as a part of a two-pack with Trapped a decade ago, but that release has been out of print for a bit. For its 20th anniversary, the film returns to HD likely sourced from the same master, but we do not have the previous disc to compare. 

This film has a very stylized palette which makes this a difficult one to perfect with Mill Creek’s notoriously lacking encoding prowess. The warm colors are one of the high points of the disc, as many of the vibrant locations and elements of the production design radiate off the screen. Skin tones mostly look natural, if not a bit overly saturated. Where the presentation shows its weakness is in its fairly weak black levels. The shadows can often turn into a murky mess with crush and poorly defined edges. 

The presentation struggles when it comes to textural detail as the image presents as a bit soft at times. Compression artifacts and macroblocking plague much of the film, but the print itself is not in too rough of shape in terms of nicks or scratches. This film deserves a nice refresh with a label that can properly handle giving this one a formidable disc, preferably in 4K UHD. Mill Creek Entertainment has kept this one from being stranded strictly in the land of DVD, but we wish the execution was a bit stronger overall. 

Audio Quality

Mill Creek Entertainment brings us this new Blu-Ray with a lossless DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mix instead of the DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that was on the previous release. The downgrade is frankly baffling, but the disc is not a disgrace by any means. Dialogue comes through nicely, emanating out clearly without being overshadowed by the music or sound effects. The environmental effects are delineated nicely and given a presence in the mix, even if some surround stretch would have benefitted this one. The sounds of the city along with a slew of other noises give this movie energy and sound great within the mix. This track is not the best it could be, but it handles itself decently. There are optional English SDH subtitles provided. 

Special Features

There are no special features provided on this disc. 

Final Thoughts

In The Cut is a visceral psycho-sexual experience which upends any previous notions you had about Meg Ryan. The film proved to be controversial to those who only knew Ryan for her romantic comedies, but the move was necessary to stretch her talents as a dramatic actress. The direction of Jane Campion allows for this tale to truly tap into the realm of female pleasure and desire, giving the protagonist power rather than existing as another prop in a long line of noir narratives. The film is somewhat inconsistently paced, but overall it creates a nightmarish tone that really sends a chill up your spine. Mill Creek Entertainment has released a Blu-Ray featuring a serviceable A/V presentation and nothing in the way of special features. Fans of the film will be thrilled to have this one return to high definition, but we wish it could be treated slightly better. Recommended 

In The Cut is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray. 

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Mill Creek Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.