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‘The Cut’ Review: Orlando Bloom Gives an All-Time Great Performance in an Uneven Boxer Drama
Sean Ellis' sports drama 'The Cut' is ironically weighed down by the past, but has enough visceral impact to work.
Bloom’s protagonist — referred to as “the Boxer” in press notes, and frustratingly, nothing at all in the movie — can be seen engaged in a professional boxing bout exactly once in “The Cut.” During the film’s brief prologue, the accomplished prizefighter seems well on his way to another victory, when something mysterious and unseen distracts him from off-screen — something in the ether that only he can see — resulting in his opponent getting the upper hand and opening a deep, career-threatening gash above his eye. However, the complications increase tenfold when, unable to lose the pounds despite pushing his body to the brink, the Boxer decides to bring a new trainer into the fold, Boz (John Turturro), a condescending and practically demonic entity, who gets results because, in his words, he doesn’t love anyone or anything except winning. Through torturous workout scenes, and shots of scant, flavorless scraps (just enough to survive), “The Cut” all but turns the typical training montage into its own nightmarish film, with a disconcerting helping of a quiet male eating disorder on the side.
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