In the Cut

Meg Ryan and Mark Ruffalo toe the line of predator and prey in Campion’s intoxicating and controversial adaptation of Susanna Moore’s erotic novel that defies convention.

Meg Ryan slashes her sweetheart screen persona as a New York City English teacher who becomes dangerously involved with a detective (Ruffalo) investigating the brutal murder of a young woman, in what remains Campion’s most provocative and polarising film.

Adapted from Susanna Moore’s novel of the same name and impressionistically shot by Oscar-winning Australian cinematographer Dion Beebe (Holy Smoke), Campion uses the erotic thriller as a Trojan Horse for her ongoing exploration of female autonomy and desire. The film notoriously divided critics – but not David Stratton and Margaret Pomeranz, who both gave it five stars on The Movie Show, with Pomeranz deeming it "absolutely the best film that Jane Campion has ever made".