A Thousand Little Cuts

It's not a great movie, it's no Ashley Judd Morgan Freeman classic from the 90s but it's ok enough to watch, the twist at the end is a bit cliché and the getting there is a bit frustrating, some of it just makes no sense ie: no development on the jogger, just a couple random instances and blam? I don't know, it was ok enough to watch, won't be recommending it like Promising Young Woman or The Hunt, which are kinda in this genre.

This movie was very much Not Good. The writing was awful, the acting was not good, and the "twist" (if you can call it that) was not worth the payoff. It felt much longer than its 90 minute runtime.

Several scenes were superfluous (we didn't need to see ANY of the scenes with the psychiatrist and her husband), the scenes with the psychiatrist and the detective were redundant (three separate scenes to illustrate the same point), and the weird coaxing out the story from Anne wasn't convincing at all. Don't even get me started on the various scenes of her at work - which also added nothing to the overall plot. Genuinely confused at this 4+/5 rating.

I would not call this a "thriller", at all. It *is* a mystery. The last half hour is played much straighter than the first hour and the result is more impactful. The problem is the first hour also qualifies for the genre tag "dark comedy" due to all the stereotypical portrayals of toxic masculinity. Essentially, the film is about the cumulative effect of the experiences of toxic masculinity on one woman, and her reactions to it. Rebecca Liddiard is interesting and engaging in a nicely layered performance as that one woman. I don't want to say the other actors, particularly the males, gave obviously lower quality performances, but I almost had the sense they were so embarrassed to be portraying those stereotypes that they did not really know how to do it effectively. I think the overall film would have benefited from the men being played straight, instead of as foolish caricatures with no self-awareness, all the way through. At the end of the day, this took on an important topic on a very low budget and provided some interesting twists, resulting in not a terrible film but not above average either. Mostly, it made me want to see more of Liddiard.

7.6 stars.

I thought based on multiple low reviews this would be a dud, however it's not. This is an acquired taste, and I am part of the demographic that enjoys this particular flavor. I am interested in psychotherapy and any movie that presents a trauma and the mystery of how it happened, solved through the process of therapy, explored through the lens of a traumatized woman, a police officer and a psychologist; so I'm all in!

The reason why I found this story to be entertaining is because it was presented effectively, and the actors are excellent. It's not boring, not low quality, it's a regular movie in the genre of mental health and abuse. It's told in a somewhat captivating manner and it works for me. I recommend you give it a chance. If you still enjoy it at 20 minutes, you might enjoy the whole film.

If this film were Romanian or French, US producers would throw tons of money at it to make an English language version in which Nicole Kidman plays the shrink. As it is, Marina Sirtis is outstanding as the psychiatrist charged with unraveling the mystery of a particularly heinous crime scene, no Kidman necessary.

A Thousand Little cuts is an absolute gem of a layered thriller that deserved far more financing than it got; hence the rating of 8- it sometimes comes off as a bit too low budget. The story and storytelling are superb. Writer/Director Joshua Brandon also inspired excellent performances. The film was a most engaging, pleasant surprise and I look forward to seeing more of Brandon's work.