How 'In The Cut' Became A Painful Lesson About Typecasting

When Oscar-winning director Jane Campion’s 2003 film In The Cut hit screens, the world wasn’t ready.

The film, a subversive — some would argue feminist — take on the erotic thriller genre has undergone critical reevaluation over the last few years. But back in the early 2000s, it flopped at the box office.

In The Cut grossed $4 million domestically, and under $24 million worldwide, recouping its budget, but making hundreds of millions less compared to the grosses of other erotic thrillers from the era (Basic Instinct brought in $352 million, and Eyes Wide Shut grossed $104 million worldwide).

It seemed like reviewers didn’t bother to understand the film, and much criticism was lobbed at lead actor Meg Ryan. In The Cut is a case study of star power gone wrong — Ryan was so firmly cemented in people’s minds as the star who led Sleepless in Seattle, When Harry Met Sally, and You’ve Got Mail, that seeing her step into a role that didn’t match those rom-com proclivities was jarring. As producer Laurie Parker says, “People didn’t know how to cope.”

Ryan’s character in In the Cut — Frannie — is an English teacher who has a steamy affair with an NYPD detective (Mark Ruffalo) investigating a string of gruesome murders in the city.

The cast of "In The Cut" and director Jane Campion arrive at the Los Angeles premiere in 2003.

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Campion didn’t develop the film with Ryan in mind — Nicole Kidman was initially attached to star. Kidman would have been coming off of projects like Eyes Wide Shut, Moulin Rouge!, and The Others; audiences had already seen her star in thrillers or films with overt sexuality throughout the '90s and early 2000s.

Due to a scheduling conflict, production had to find a new lead. And Parker says she and Campion knew Ryan was the right choice.

“When we met Meg, I just feel like we both thought ... It's almost like someone that we've never seen before. And I think that was really exhilarating and kind of exciting,” Parker says.

However, while Ryan had the range, audiences and critics held on to her earlier image. British talk show host Michael Parkinson infamously scolded her: “How could you be naked?”

Former Academy President and casting director David Rubin had this to say about the idea of typecasting in film: “Actors enter the profession for the variety that it presents. So to use an actor in the same way over and over again, to play the same kind of role, is ultimately to the detriment of the final product.”

Now, 20 years after In The Cut first premiered, Ryan’s performance as Frannie is being reevaluated. But, as Parker says, “Once something really gets critically panned, it is kind of hard to bring it back.”

Meg Ryan (L) and Jane Campion (R) attend the opening night gala of the London Film Festival.

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It's now available from LAist Studios. Check it out wherever you get your podcasts! Or listen to Episode 6: “In the Cut: Casting Against Type,” featuring In The Cut producer Laurie Parker, in the player below: