Much like the horror or fantasy genres, sports films are often filled with metaphors. In most cases, the competition is about more than the event itself, it’s about something larger for the character(s) or the idea it represents. In modern sports cinema, the first title that most often comes to mind with boxing films is John G. Avildsen’s Rocky (1976), a tale of one man’s quest to see if he can go the distance. In one line within director Sean Ellis’s The Cut which originally premiered at TIFF 2024 and is now slated for a wide theatrical release, John Turturro’s Boz declares that viewing the journey *as* the destination is something losers tell themselves, as though calling out Rocky for heralding the attempt at greatness as being superior to actually winning. This is a core element to The Cut, a thriller which invites audiences into the psychology of a fighter as it questions what it takes to be in the ring while simultaneously challenging whether the methods are worth the potential rewards. For all of its fantastic performances and compelling cinematography, The Cut leaves one a touch cold as the space between question and answer is too wide a gulf to accept.
Orlando Bloom as Boxer in the Psychological Thriller film, THE CUT. Photo courtesy of Republic Pictures (a Paramount Pictures label).
A retired boxer (Orlando Bloom), formerly known as The Wolf of Dublin, finds an opportunity to try and recapture the greatness he felt he lost after a crushing defeat in the ring 10 years ago when a competitor going against the current Welterweight Champion drops out. With only a short time to cut roughly 30 lbs for the weight class, he pulls together a team of familiars, including his girlfriend and partner Caitlin (Caitríona Balfe), to assist him in getting fight-ready. But as time runs out and his weight isn’t dropping on schedule, show promoter Donnie Hoff (Gary Beadle) brings in the direct and enigmatic Boz (Turturro) to help him cross the finish line. But Boz’s methods will push The Wolf beyond the bounds of human exertion, forcing him to confront parts of himself he’s dared not look at in his bid for professional and personal redemption.
Before entering the world of The Cut, you need to shed your expectations. When audiences hear “sports story,” a presumption arises from past formulas in which we will follow our protagonist from potential anonymity into training and through the ring, the victory or defeat something we endure alongside them. The Cut is disinterested in that, opting, instead, to focus on the psychology of an athlete. In this case, The Cut shares more in common with Black Swan (2010) as the script by Justin Bull (A Banquet), based on a story by first-time writer Mark Lane, pushes the dehumanization of its central figure until he’s little more than a vessel. After the cold open in which we observe the bout that retired him, we’re shown The Wolf working with kids at a gym and trying to help teach young fighters as they spar. Outside of newspapers showing his moniker “The Wolf of Dublin,” he’s not given a name. Even in the credits, Bloom is listed merely as “Boxer.” Names matter as they tell us who we are and connect us to those who came before us. Even if we change our names, doing so can be viewed as a reclamation of self by stating to the world what you want to be called. Here, in Ellis’s world, this man is Boxer — a fighter and nothing else. So when we observe the lengths he goes to, further striping any sense of self, questions form as to why he would do such a thing as it’s more than just having another shot in an industry he feels he was robbed of a chance to succeed in. Through flashbacks, we’re given glimpses of Boxer’s background during The Troubles, yet offered not enough details to divine revelations, only suggestions, inferences at what such an upbringing did to Boxer as the experience would still linger now.
Orlando Bloom as Boxer in the Psychological Thriller film, THE CUT. Photo courtesy of Republic Pictures (a Paramount Pictures label).
Ellis, also serving as cinematographer, creates an atmosphere of anxiety by shifting the cinematography to include tighter (sometimes tilted) shots, lighting which makes the characters appear more gaunt and weathered, or just infusing scenes with abnormal color (specifically green). The purpose here is to try to draw the internal disintegration of Boxer’s psyche out as he goes through a horrific weight purge in order to pass the official weigh-in to compete. From the flashbacks and a few present-day moments (unspecified as to avoid spoilers), we already understand that Boxer is broken and instead of admitting to it and receiving help, he takes part in activities that would diminish his physical capabilities even before undergoing this detox program. But, once begun, the hallucinations grow to a point where we, like Boxer, can’t distill reality from fiction. This makes it even more horrifying when Boxer finds himself going to extreme lengths in his attempts to secure his spot for the title-shot. Bloom (The Lord of the Rings trilogy) is undeniably magnetic as he presents someone so devoid of hope that he’s willing to trade his humanity for this moment that could provide a return to glory. Thus, Boxer is reduced even further, making one of the film’s taglines, “Your Body Is a Tool,” a descriptor for himself: nothing more than a tool. Or, as Boz puts it, “a poker chip.” To that end, we observe the breaking of an already damaged individual until they are little more than a single-minded organism, which, as interesting as that is, never gets as interesting as it wants to be in light of what it doesn’t explore.
L-R: Caitríona Balfe as Caitlin and Orlando Bloom as Boxer in the Psychological Thriller film, THE CUT. Photo courtesy of Republic Pictures (a Paramount Pictures label).
Thrillers are all about asking questions. Here, there are several and so many of them rely on physical performance to convey answers. To that end, Bloom and co-stars Balfe (Ford v. Ferrari) and Turturro (Transformers) give incredible performances. Turturro is an unrelenting force, delivering lines as Boz with the calm and measure of a man who has seen everything and knows everything and with absolute disinterest in success or failure, and only desires adherence to his advice. Balfe infuses the film with its only sense of tenderness, her mere presence as Caitlin instilling calm and ease amid rocky scenarios. Gratefully, Balfe is given more than “the girlfriend” role with Caitlin having her own aims to achieve and ethics to follow; the conflict of ethics being one of many dilemmas the film must address and utilizes toward amplifying the drama between the slowly shrinking ensemble. Bloom is absolutely astonishing in his performance in all of its forms, demonstrating a rawness that we’ve seen glimpses of in prior roles (The Outpost) but was never given the space to explore more deeply due to being too pigeonholed. The actor clearly trusts Ellis as he’s pushed physically and performatively as Boxer is honed, sharped, broken, and reshaped over the course of the film. Even when we want to look away, we truly cannot from Bloom — he’s that commanding.
However, while Ellis puts together a convincing cast, utilizes trippy cinematography, and utilizes a script that inspires the audience to question what they’ve seen, the answers themselves are minimal and, therefore, unsatisfying. The journey may not be the destination and the match may not be the point, but the fight is. By “fight,” I mean Boxer’s to merely survive. The cold open inserts a question into the whole film about Boxer that’s never answered. The continued glimpses back to his youth and experiences with his mother (Clare Dunne) set up a psychological confrontation to match his physical breaking-down, yet that never comes to fruition, leaving it dangling in the void of possibilities. The final moment of the film appears to be contemplative, yet it lacks connective tissue to what’s come before in order for it to carry weight. All of these things pull away from the intention of the narrative and the power of the performances as we find ourselves struggling to give a damn.
L-R: Orlando Bloom as Boxer and John Turturro as Boz in the Psychological Thriller film, THE CUT. Photo courtesy of Republic Pictures (a Paramount Pictures label).
The Cut is a frustrating experience because one can see the levels that Ellis is playing with, even if they don’t align. The name of the film refers to the injury that prompts Boxer’s loss, the task before him to get into the new fight, and also the infected psychological wound upon his soul. The use of title for a character name speaks to the utility of a person, rather than his humanity or his art. He’s a bludgeoning machine with no one to battle, stuck in idle until he dies. These are all fascinating thematic attributes that are only amplified by the cast who make entire meals out of the smallest narrative morsels. But for all of this, despite a longing within one to grasp it, there is nothing amid the tale outside of its intention that satisfies.
In theaters September 5th, 2025.
For more information, head to the official Paramount Pictures The Cut webpage.
Final Score: 2.5 out of 5.
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Categories: In Theaters, Reviews
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