Kiss goodbye to America's Sweetheart, and get down and dirty with Meg Ryan, Serious Actress.

Ditching the flirty blonde shag for mousy locks, Ryan bares her soul (and the rest) in erotic thriller In The Cut. It's all very artistically done, mind, with Jane Campion (The Piano) pulling the strings to create an eerie meditation on sexual politics and misogynistic violence.

Adapted from the novel by Susanna Moore, the plot centres on Frannie Avery (Meg Ryan), who teaches creative writing between shifts of deep introspection and wistful gazing. She's coaxed out of her insular existence by über-macho homicide detective James A Malloy (Mark Ruffalo), as he investigates the brutal slaying of a young woman in her Manhattan neighbourhood.

"GREASY CHARISMA"

Malloy sniffs a trail that leads him straight into Frannie's bed, which is all very cathartic for the lonely lit teacher, until she begins to suspect Malloy of the heinous crime. More disturbing is the allusion that in some deep, dark place, she gets a kick out of the idea.

Frannie's growing unease is niftily conveyed in a semi-blurred urban landscape where you're never quite sure where you stand. Trying to keep a grip on reality while indulging a fantasy, Ryan is fearless. But Ruffalo easily outshines her with greasy charisma.

In supporting roles, Kevin Bacon and Jennifer Jason Leigh do what they do best ie creepy, and creepier.

"UNSETTLING VISUALS"

Unfortunately, in a story chiefly concerned with the inner-life of its anti-heroine, the suspense factor is almost as lax as Frannie's knicker elastic. It would matter less if the complexity of her dilemma was more tangible; instead Campion substitutes unsettling visuals for genuine mystery.

While it is bold, ambitious and often striking, In The Cut isn't as incisive as it pretends to be. Wavering between romanticism and gritty reality, it ultimately slips through the crack in a finalé that could leave you feeling cheap and used.

In The Cut is released in UK cinemas on Friday 31st October 2003.