A THOUSAND LITTLE CUTS (2022) Reviews of mystery drama

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‘What really happened that night?’
A Thousand Little Cuts is a 2022 mystery drama film about a young woman who wakes up injured in a hospital with no idea of why she’s there.

Written, co-produced and directed by Josh Brandon (Black Bags). Produced by B.L. Fleischer, Peter Foldy and Ron Wiskup.

The Filmstreet-Spitfire co-production stars Marina Sirtis (The Bezonians), Colin Ferguson, Rebecca Liddiard, Randy Wayne, Maggie McClure and Andrew Creer.

Plot:
A young woman wakes up in a hospital, convinced she is recovering from minor surgery only to find herself being interrogated by a psychiatrist who can’t let her leave until she remembers “what happened that night.” Events turn a darker corner as doctor and patient try to unlock not only what traumatic event Anne is suppressing, but also who was there, why it happened, and why Anne’s subconscious is fighting so hard to prevent her from talking about it…

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Our view:
A Thousand Little Cuts opens in a deliberately confusing manner as it juxtaposes a flashback to an assault she sustained seemingly while jogging and Anne’s (Rebecca Liddiard) understandable frustration in her sales job and continues in this vein for the first part of the movie. There’s also a revelatory scene in which she discovers her boyfriend doing the do with another woman. Her life seems to be falling apart! All this is conveyed to a probing psychiatrist Monica Atlas (Marina Sirtis) whilst Anne recovers from the aforementioned attack.

The movie – which is incorrectly identified as a “thriller” on IMDb but is certainly not standard genre fare – continues to obfuscate as we witness Anne’s half-hearted attempts to move forwards using a dating app that throws up all manner of unpleasant and self-obsessed men, often in an amusing manner. In fact, at this stage, it seems as if A Thousand Little Cuts – the title is metaphoric rather than physical – has become a self-aware rom-com for the modern age. However, writer-director Josh Brandon cleverly continues to pull the rug from under the audience as the film takes on a darker tone from thereon, which should remain unrevealed due to spoilers.

Rebecca Liddiard is excellent in the lead role and elicits just the right amount of viewer empathy and admiration in a role that requires her character Anne to work on several levels. Her body language and facial expressions often subtly convey the deep frustrations and anger that Anne experiences. The plot reveals keep us guessing as to what will be the final revelatory outcome and it’s fair to say that although there are hints, most viewers will be surprised at the climax.

Having been released on Digital and On-Demand, A Thousand Little Cuts hasn’t gained the amount of attention it deserves, which is a shame. Had it been picked up by Netflix or another streaming service there would have obviously been masses of reviews and debate over the important issues that it raises – and not in an off-putting preachy way – it’s a film we recommend checking out.
Adrian J Smith, MOVIES and MANIA

Reviews:
“Because A Thousand Little Cuts exists to walk us through the recovery process, the drama does not plumb the depths of despair. Instead, it maintains safe levels to serve as encouragement and a beacon of hope to those who’ve gone through similar experiences. As Anne, Liddiard gives a fantastic performance, capturing the complexities the subject matter deserves.” 8/10 Film Threat

“A very cleverly structured thriller that manages to keep its mystery up until pretty much the last scene, and even though hints are dropped ever so often that there’s more to the story than meets the eye it successfully refuses to give away its game till very late.” Search My Trash

Release:
In the US, Vision Films released A Thousand Little Cuts on Digital and On-Demand (VOD) platforms on May 3, 2022. Rent or buy via Amazon

Cast and characters:
Marina Sirtis … Monica Atlas
Colin Ferguson … Detective Mike Olson
Rebecca Liddiard … Anne
Randy Wayne … Rick
Maggie McClure … Pianist
Andrew Creer … Tom
Darryl Cox … Brian
Brooks Ryan … Greg
Nazanin Nour … Kiara Aubusson
Betsy Hume … Jane
Justin France … Ben
Leah N.H. Philpott … Sarah
Carolyn Grundman … Emily
Ben Richardson … Scott
Caleb Yen … Shawn Ruskin
Matthew Foster … Mitch
J.J. Arends … Ashley
William Langan … Ed McKay
Kristi Culbert … Tina
Lorrie Chilcoat … Nurse Lisa
Glenda Radigonda … Helen

Filming locations:
Guthrie, Oklahoma

Technical details:
1 hour 27 minutes

Trailer:

MOVIES and MANIA rating:

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