Cutter's Way (1981) directed by Ivan Passer
The concept of Cutter's Way is not a new one, someone thinks someone's done something wrong but cannot prove it. Everyone likes uncovering a good mystery which is why these stories are so popular. In Manhattan Murder Mystery, Woody Allen has fun with it by making a comedy farce, but still understands the key component in making these films work, an unending sense of paranoia. Paranoia alone is enough to carry a mystery even with the absence of clues or facts which is at the heart of Cutter's Way. In the film, Richard Bone finds a dead woman and sees shadowy figure nearby who may or may not be J.J. Cord, a prominent member of the community. Bone's best friend Alex Cutter deduces that it must have been Cord and pursues the case with unwavering conviction.
Cutter is so convinced that Cord murdered the woman that we desperately want to believe it as well even though all we have to go by is Bone's brief look at a shadowy figure passing by him. Other than that one glance there is literally nothing else to go by, so why is Cutter so convinced? This film is actually more about the characters Cutter and Bone more so than the mystery itself. Cutter is a crippled Vietnam war vet who desperately needs something in his life and this mystery fills that hole. Bone doesn't necessarily believe it was Cord and just plays along with Cutter to humor him but quickly finds himself trapped in his web. What is interesting though is that as we progress further into the film we are never really any closer to solving the mystery but we are closer to realizing the extent of Cutter's paranoia and instability. Theoretically this should mean we should discount his theory but instead the opposite happens, we believe it even more. We, like Bone, will follow Cutter to the very end.
SPOILER:
There are of course ambiguous moments that could lead us to believe that Cutter is right. When his house explodes with Cutter's wife in it we assume it is because Cord wants Cutter dead, but there is a perfectly reasonable and heartbreaking reason for this. Cutter's wife was depressed because of the years of neglect. Bone knows this because he was with her the night before. If you are Cutter what do you want to believe, that you drove your wife to suicide (and the arms of your best friend) or that your enemy killed her to get to you?
I also loved the ending as well which doesn't confirm anything one way or the other. Bone confronts Cord who doesn't say anything about it. Cutter comes crashing in (literally) and dies in Bone's arms. At this point Bone is convinced that Cutter was right all along or is he simply grieving for his dead friend? The closing shot is perfect as well when Bone says, "It really was you," and Cord just smugly replies, "So what if it was?" where Bone lifts up Cutter's gun and shoots. The end. What a great way to end it leaving the viewer to guess the meaning.
END SPOILER
This film is notable for the great lead performances by Jeff Bridges and Bone and particularly John Heard as Cutter. It's kind of funny because an eccentric character like Cutter is someone you'd imagine an older Bridges playing. The film is also very well directed and presents the viewer with a dark world of constant paranoia and intrigue.
Grade: A-
The concept of Cutter's Way is not a new one, someone thinks someone's done something wrong but cannot prove it. Everyone likes uncovering a good mystery which is why these stories are so popular. In Manhattan Murder Mystery, Woody Allen has fun with it by making a comedy farce, but still understands the key component in making these films work, an unending sense of paranoia. Paranoia alone is enough to carry a mystery even with the absence of clues or facts which is at the heart of Cutter's Way. In the film, Richard Bone finds a dead woman and sees shadowy figure nearby who may or may not be J.J. Cord, a prominent member of the community. Bone's best friend Alex Cutter deduces that it must have been Cord and pursues the case with unwavering conviction.
Cutter is so convinced that Cord murdered the woman that we desperately want to believe it as well even though all we have to go by is Bone's brief look at a shadowy figure passing by him. Other than that one glance there is literally nothing else to go by, so why is Cutter so convinced? This film is actually more about the characters Cutter and Bone more so than the mystery itself. Cutter is a crippled Vietnam war vet who desperately needs something in his life and this mystery fills that hole. Bone doesn't necessarily believe it was Cord and just plays along with Cutter to humor him but quickly finds himself trapped in his web. What is interesting though is that as we progress further into the film we are never really any closer to solving the mystery but we are closer to realizing the extent of Cutter's paranoia and instability. Theoretically this should mean we should discount his theory but instead the opposite happens, we believe it even more. We, like Bone, will follow Cutter to the very end.
SPOILER:
There are of course ambiguous moments that could lead us to believe that Cutter is right. When his house explodes with Cutter's wife in it we assume it is because Cord wants Cutter dead, but there is a perfectly reasonable and heartbreaking reason for this. Cutter's wife was depressed because of the years of neglect. Bone knows this because he was with her the night before. If you are Cutter what do you want to believe, that you drove your wife to suicide (and the arms of your best friend) or that your enemy killed her to get to you?
I also loved the ending as well which doesn't confirm anything one way or the other. Bone confronts Cord who doesn't say anything about it. Cutter comes crashing in (literally) and dies in Bone's arms. At this point Bone is convinced that Cutter was right all along or is he simply grieving for his dead friend? The closing shot is perfect as well when Bone says, "It really was you," and Cord just smugly replies, "So what if it was?" where Bone lifts up Cutter's gun and shoots. The end. What a great way to end it leaving the viewer to guess the meaning.
END SPOILER
This film is notable for the great lead performances by Jeff Bridges and Bone and particularly John Heard as Cutter. It's kind of funny because an eccentric character like Cutter is someone you'd imagine an older Bridges playing. The film is also very well directed and presents the viewer with a dark world of constant paranoia and intrigue.
Grade: A-
No comments:
Post a Comment