The Dreamers vs In The Cut

Sex in movies used to be different. In the past, sex in movies wasn't deadly or funny, it was sexy. I can scarcely remember the last time I saw sex in a movie, where the characters actually seem turned on and interested in each other, as opposed to either repulsed, scared or embarrassed. Our parents got Last Tango in Paris and Don't Look Now, we get American Pie and Eyes Wide Shut. Admit it, sometimes when you see a mainstream movie about sex, you want, if only for a moment, to think “Is this real?” If you've seen either of the former two movies, you definitely had that thought. If you've seen the two latter, you definitely did not.

Which brings me to The Dreamers. The Dreamers has so much going on, but every bit of it comes back to sex. When it's about the 1960s, it's about sex in the 1960s. When it's about France, it's about sex in France. When it's about war, it's about sex as metaphor for war and war as metaphor for sex. When it's about cinema, it's about cinema as foreplay, or cinema as afterglow. When it's about people, it's about their thoughts or feelings or actions surrounding sex. When it's about siblings…

Oh, didn't I mention the main characters of The Dreamers are siblings? Well they are. Don't you feel naughty? Relax, Falwell, only two of them are siblings. Oh, didn't I mention there are three of them? Well there are. Don't you feel dirty?

The Dreamers is the latest movie from Bernardo Bertolucci, and if it's not autobiographical, I don't want to know. The Dreamers plays like a tribute to cinema. Scenes of classic silent and black-and-white movies compliment scenes throughout The Dreamers, but never feel like a stunt. The Dreamers stars Michael Pitt, as Matthew, an American in Paris in the late 1960s. He's obsessed with movies, and goes to the cinema as often as possible. The political climate is so volatile that the cinema is periodically shut down, with angry movie buffs taking to the streets. When he goes, he sits down front, so that the information from the screen will get to him before anyone else. At the movies, he meets Theo and Isabelle, played by Louis Garrel and Eva Green. They're twins and love cinema possibly even more than Matthew. They've only known each other a couple days before they've hit it off, and soon, Matthew is at their house for dinner. Michael is exhilarated by the discussion at dinner, which involves philosophy and politics. Theo and Isabelle's parents are going out of town for what seems like a couple months, and they invite Michael to stay with them. His motel is one of those tiny bathroom-down-the-hall types, and Isabelle is beautiful, so he says yes.

And so, The Dreamers truly begins, and is many of the things we expect. It's a coming of age story, as Matthew experiences The Month That Changed His Life, and it's a love story, between Matthew and Isabelle, and it's a movie about movies, and it's a war movie, and it's a movie about…siblings.

As Matthew gets further into Isabelle and Theo's life, he finds their closeness disturbing. He finds them asleep together, naked. And the first time Isabelle and Matthew make love, it's on the kitchen floor, with Theo making eggs nearby. When Matthew asks Isabelle if she's ever been on a date, you can tell the rest of the sentence is an implied, “outside your family?” Of course, they go to a movie, and since it's a date, they sit in the back. Matthew comes close to showing Isabelle what he feels is a normal way of life, but she's had such a sheltered existence, she's barely more three-dimensional than the characters from cinema she imitates so accurately.

The Dreamers, as its name implies, is dreamlike. It unfolds in short scenes that would probably play just fine on their own, and as pieces of a whole can be beautiful, upsetting, sad, and confusing. Late in the film, the trio has become so absorbed in their fantasy lives that they come dangerously close to ending them. It takes a brick through the window to snap them out of their fog of sex and loneliness. It might take the same for you to stop thinking about The Dreamers days after you've watched it. 

And then, there's In the Cut, which wants so much to be sexy. It's trying its little heart out. So why isn't it?

Well, first of all, it actually is a little sexy. A little sexy though, is kind of like a little fun. It means that the bulk of everything else is…not fun. Not sexy.

In the Cut stars Meg Ryan, which for a lot of people, is part of the problem. I think most viewers prefer her funny and cute. I happen to find Meg Ryan sexy, so I think it's cool that she's all eager to get down and dirty. Ryan stars as Frannie Avery, which sounds like the name of one of the characters from a Meg Ryan romantic comedy, but isn't by a long shot. Frannie is an English teacher, and it always seems really humid around her. Her hair is long and limp, and you keep expecting her to have like, a slow ceiling fan, or maybe some mosquito nets around her bed. It's one of those Hottest Summers Ever, only I'm not positive it's even summer. Frannie is sad and frustrated. Her boyfriends are all the same, like crazy what's-his-name, played by Kevin Bacon. I didn't know Kevin Bacon was even in this movie until I saw it, so I automatically pegged him as the killer. Relax, he's just Crazy Ex-Boyfriend, there to distract you.

Oh, and I forgot: there's a killer. A woman was brutally killed, and Frannie may have been a witness. She hangs out in this seedy bar, and walked in on a little uh, eyes-closed-humming, if you know what I mean, and she saw the woman doing the aforementioned hum, as well as a tattoo on the hand of the uh, humvee, or whatever. The woman was found dead later, and the killer is on the loose. Soon, Frannie finds herself involved with a cop on the case, played by Mark Ruffalo. Ryan and Ruffalo are two of my favorite actors, and man oh man, I wish I could see them again in a better movie. In the Cut is promising, to be sure, but there's just something about it that doesn't work.

See, here's the deal. I already told you Kevin Bacon isn't the killer. You're welcome. So, now you're thinking it must be Mark Ruffalo. So, if it's him, then it's totally obvious that it's him, right? And it's like you saw that coming a mile away. If it's not him, then why not? Why would they go to all the trouble to make it all moody and dangerous if it's not? If he's not the killer, then why is he so mysterious and rude? Okay, so if it's not him, then it's got to be some random supporting character, revealed as evil at the last second. So, we have Jennifer Jason Leigh, as Frannie's sister, and Ruffalo has a partner, and Frannie has an angry student, and they all feel a little incidental. You see what I'm getting at? There's no way for it to just be a random, faceless criminal, and if it's gotta be a main character, well, there's just no way to make the leap for any of these people and have a satisfying thriller. And, as a result, as a thriller, it's not satisfying. At all.

So what's left? Well, there's some pretty great acting in In The Cut. Is there an Oscar category for Acting in a Movie I Otherwise Didn't Like Much? Maybe there should be. Ryan, Ruffalo and Leigh could all be nominees. Meg Ryan and Jennifer Jason Leigh are not actors that I would have thought of to play siblings, but it's a cool match. They even kind of look alike, and appear more comfortable around each other than movie siblings usually do. They share glances occasionally, and fill in the blanks in their dialogue, most of which is about how much they need to get laid. Speaking of, Meg Ryan and Mark Ruffalo have chemistry in all of their scenes. None of them make much sense, but the acting's good, and yes, you pervert, they get naked.

In The Cut was directed by Jane Campion, who knows a lot about women and sex, and should really have either stuck to what she knows, or just invented her own style of thriller. In the Cut is one of those dark, bloody, rainy thrillers, like most we've gotten since Se7en. In these types of movies, see, we know Ryan's character is deep because her apartment is ugly and her underwear doesn't match. If it's always night, or if there are exposed light bulbs and gross food in the fridge, then it's a very serious movie, right? Not in this case. The world of In the Cut is mostly ugly, which is too bad. When my favorite actors are getting down to business, it's distracting to think they might be catching something from the sheets.

The Dreamers: A-
In the Cut: C