Psycho-Sexual Thrillers

Lanie’s Pick: Body Heat

Lili’s Pick: In the Cut

This week’s Double Features are prime examples of how satisfying a film can be when it follows through on its promises, and how frustrating a film can be when it never delivers the desired result. Lawrence Kasdan’s Body Heat was a subtle yet surprising sexy thriller, providing all of the allure and intrigue that William Hurt and Kathleen Turner had to offer. Jane Campion’s In the Cut, however, had zero subtlety and zero sex appeal, despite all of its sloppy ambition. I cannot believe a mostly female-led psycho-sexual thriller starring a young pussy-eating Mark Ruffalo could be bad. Or at least not THIS bad. Have you ever met someone incredibly attractive, who upon further interaction became suddenly, inexplicably unattractive to you? That was In the Cut. All of the chances it took to be bold or edgy failed miserably, and the confusing, wannabe-noir dialogue was completely out of place. I know Jane Campion likes a subversive sexual journey, I mean, who doesn’t, but that wasn’t quite achieved here. Each character was more unnecessarily brazen than the last, and by the end I truly didn’t care who the real killer was because the movie itself seemed to become bored of that part of the plot. The murder, the suspense, the unnerving uncertainty—these things did not stand out like they should’ve. The chilling story that was promised was nowhere to be found, minus some scenes of blood and sudden bouts of homophobia. What I’ll remember from this movie are the very odd covers of good songs, the shadows cast across Ruffalo’s dick, and Meg Ryan’s bangs, but not much more. After watching this, a palate cleanser was necessary—thank god we watched Body Heat second. This is how you do a psycho-sexual thriller, people!! And William Hurt if you’re reading this, I’m sorry for underestimating your hotness, this is you and Kathleen Turner’s hottest movie. I love to be kept guessing, I love a slow but steady burn with passion and intention. I loved this movie, and I think every bead of sweat featured here deserved an Oscar.