The Divisive Detour
Cast your mind back to 2003. Jane Campion was already an arthouse icon, the first woman to win the Palme d'Or for “The Piano.” Then came “In the Cut,” an erotic thriller starring America’s sweetheart, Meg Ryan, in a role that was anything but. The film
was dark, sexually explicit, and visually disorienting, using a hazy, out-of-focus style to reflect its protagonist's psychological state. For many critics and audiences, it was a bridge too far. The reception was brutal. Reviews called it everything from a “ludicrous erotic thriller” to “dopey and predictable.” Many were particularly harsh on Ryan for shedding her romantic-comedy persona. The film was largely seen as a misfire, a respected director’s strange, alienating detour into a genre that seemed beneath her. Its Metacritic score remains one of the lowest of her career.
A Necessary Risk
But what if “In the Cut” wasn’t a mistake, but a necessary, if painful, step in her evolution? The film was a bold experiment in depicting female desire and vulnerability from a purely subjective viewpoint. It wrestled with themes of passion, fear, and the male gaze—or rather, the subversion of it. The sex scenes were notable for focusing intently on the female character's pleasure and perspective. While the thriller plot was criticized, Campion’s thematic obsessions were all there. She was exploring the dangerous edges of intimacy and power, ideas that have defined her entire body of work. The film’s failure at the box office and its critical drubbing reportedly affected her career, creating a long gap before her next feature film, “Bright Star,” in 2009.
The Quiet Return to Form
After the confrontational style of “In the Cut,” Campion’s work took a quieter, more refined turn. “Bright Star” was a delicate, universally praised period romance. Then came the acclaimed television series “Top of the Lake,” a crime mystery that allowed her to explore dark themes with the benefit of long-form storytelling. These projects showed Campion returning to the atmospheric, psychologically rich territory she commands so well. She was still examining complex women and the often-unseen power dynamics that shape their lives, but with a more controlled and patient hand. It was as if the abrasive experiment of “In the Cut” had been absorbed, its lessons learned, paving the way for something more profound.
The Masterpiece of Maturity
Then, in 2021—a full 18 years after “In the Cut”—came “The Power of the Dog.” Hailed almost universally as a masterpiece, the film earned Campion her second Academy Award for Best Director. It is a slow-burn Western that deconstructs masculinity, repressed desire, and psychological cruelty. All of Campion’s signature themes are present, but they are handled with a masterful subtlety. The film is a masterclass in tension and atmosphere, where the most important things are left unsaid. It feels like the work of an artist in total command of her craft, a culmination of everything she had explored before. And its DNA can be traced directly back to the very film that earned her such scorn.
From Misfire to Masterstroke
“The Power of the Dog” is, in many ways, the film that “In the Cut” wanted to be—or at least, the film it made possible. Both are genre pieces (thriller, Western) that are far more interested in the psychological undercurrents than the plot mechanics. Both explore the volatile space where desire and danger meet. But where “In the Cut” was explicit and confrontational, “The Power of the Dog” is implicit and insidious. The brash, experimental energy of the former was tempered into the simmering, controlled power of the latter. Without the willingness to risk failure on a project as bold and misunderstood as “In the Cut,” it's unlikely Campion would have arrived at the quiet confidence that makes “The Power of the Dog” her crowning achievement.
