‘Cut,’ disturbs, ‘Borders’ is unfulfilling

JOHN DEPKO

Disgusting story is found ‘In the Cut’

Dark and depressing, “In The Cut” is a disturbing slow-motion view

of all that is wrong with Hollywood’s meanest crime dramas.

First-rate acting and directing are placed in the service of a

disgusting story without redeeming social value. Director Jane

Campion (“The Piano”) is known for movies about women in trouble on

the fringes of society. Here she creates a film noir study that is

remarkable in its off-beat quality, but is vile and gruesome in its

details.

Meg Ryan goes way against type by playing a sex-obsessed English

teacher living in a gritty New York neighborhood. She stumbles

through low-class bars oblivious to the dangerous men she allows into

her life. She embraces a stark and unflattering portrait of a woman

who should know better but sleepwalks through the perils around her.

Her affair with the homicide detective investigating the brutal

murders is graphic and explicit, with many unpleasant overtones.

Though hard to watch, it may still be a defining point in her career

that will bring her more serious roles.

The entire serial killer plot unfolds in a psychotic dreamlike

atmosphere. Ryan and her half-sister, played by a sloppy Jennifer

Jason Leigh, wander through tense scenes in an alcoholic fog. The

women engage in conversations that are as lewd, crude and coarse as a

drunken sailor’s. There are a few surreal moments.

But for a would-be thriller, there is much that is tedious,

aimless and repetitive. It’s hard to recommend despite the

involvement of Nicole Kidman as producer and many other women

professionals behind the camera. It’s not surprising that this film

is in limited release for a limited audience.

* JOHN DEPKO is a Costa Mesa resident and a senior investigator

for the Orange County public defender’s office.

Little contained ‘Beyond Borders’

In Beyond Borders, Sarah Jordan (Angelina Jolie) is an American

socialite who hungers for a more selfless and fulfilling life.

Surrounded by pretentious do-gooders, Sarah draws inspiration from

the fanatical pleas of a renegade physician, Nick Callahan (Clive

Owen), who has crashed a chic British charity function.

Cashing in her savings, Sarah travels to Ethiopia to join Nick and

his small band of relief workers. And over the next 10 years, Sarah

often leaves her husband and family to follow Nick into war-ravaged,

poverty-stricken countries.

Whether cradling bone-thin infants, dispensing inoculations or

fighting against gun-toting rebels, Jolie’s performance as Sarah

appears as a public facade to hide her selfish desires to be near

Nick.

Jolie’s doe-eyed expressions and on-the-verge-of-tears reaction in

every scene fails to demonstrate her character’s strength. Sarah

lacks commitment and passion, not only in the turmoil encountered on

foreign soils, but also at home with her husband and her children.

The film began with a powerful influential statement of support

for relief workers who ignore the borders and boundaries to provide

humanitarian aid to those in need. Unfortunately, the lack of

cohesiveness and failure to reveal Sarah’s inner conflict between her

loyalty to her family in England and her new love reduces the

effectiveness of the message.

The film also fails at rivaling other romantic epics set against a

Third World backdrop of poverty, civil unrest, cruelty and violence.

And even if you consider that the film’s title refers to the

boundaries that relationships may hold, it also fails to demonstrate

that theory.

Under the guise of reminding us of the years since our lovers have

seen one another, “Borders” employs a timeline; but in contradiction,

it serves only as a reminder that the film neglects to offer

supportive connections during the intermittent years.

When crafting a film, even the smallest details are given serious

consideration. Some ideas work and some don’t, such as Jolie’s

recognizable costumes. Her costuming, more reminiscent of period

films such as “The English Patient,” “Out of Africa” and “Dr.

Zhivago,” seems out of place in a contemporary setting.

While roaming the sand-pelted African deserts, the vine-snarled

Cambodian jungles and the knee-high snowdrifts of Chechnya, Jolie

surprisingly remains fresh-pressed and clean. These choices weaken

her character’s sincerity and diminish the authority of the film.

The film’s savior, in more ways than one, is the magnetic,

dreamy-eyed Owen, whose performance as Nick is consistent and

believable. Nick’s unwavering conviction and passion to his cause is

admirable. And he’s not afraid of getting dirty.

“Beyond Borders” is a lofty film with unfulfilled potential. But

all is not lost; hope remains. It does offer expansive, striking

scenery, heart-wrenching commiseration and a pulsating fight sequence

to James Horner’s compelling score. But is it enough?

* JULIE LOWRANCE is a Costa Mesa resident who works in Newport

Beach.