A Thousand Little Cuts

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.

This could have been a gripping thriller along the lines of A Perfect Murder, keeping the audience guessing until the flip at the end.

Instead, we get drawn-out scenes showing the protagonist Anne being belittled by a misogynistic boss, frustrated by a lazy co-worker who is valued more than she is, mistreated by a guy she hooks up with via a dating app, and intimidated by an aggressive neighborhood jogger. All these scenes with two-dimensional male stereotypes are interspersed with scenes featuring a psychologist who tries to get her to dig deeper into herself to discover the truth of why she's in the hospital, and scenes of her best girlfriend expounding on how she keeps her married sex life spicy.

The idea is good, and the themes of the still-existing glass ceiling and the subjugation of women are relevant. But I can't help but feel they could have been written with more depth and more connection to the actual crime that isn't revealed until the very end. Had we known more about what had happened, the other issues would have been more compelling, and perhaps the male characters wouldn't have been such shallow, cookie-cutter stereotypes.

I applaud the attempt to address the very real issue of partner abuse as it affects women in our society. I only wish it wasn't so shallow and ham-handed.

This film deals a lot with domestic violence and may be triggering to some viewers

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'A Thousand Little Cuts' tells the story of Anne (Rebecca Liddiard), a copy editor for a small time drug company who wakes up in the hospital with no memory of how or why she got there. With the help of Dr. Monica Atlas (Marina Sirtis), Anne sifts through her memories to uncover the details of a terrible nights' events.

This film plays similarly to 'The Secret Window' (2004), in that a very traumatic event leads to temporary amnesia. Anne's life and the people in it all play a crucial role - and surprisingly, the bad guy isn't as predictable as one might assume. Direction, acting, script, and flow all work nicely together; though, due to the narration and premise of the story, the film replies heavily on flashbacks and recollections, which may deter some viewers.

Worth a watch!