The Cut, the “exhilarating” British thriller starring Outlander‘s Caitríona Balfe, has landed a new streaming home in the UK. Directed by Sean Ellis, the psychological thriller stars Orlando Bloom as an Irish boxer known as “The Wolf of Dublin”.
After coming out of retirement to win a championship title, the boxer undergoes an unorthodox weight loss regimen at the behest of his coach, Boz (John Turturro).
While Bloom’s character attempts to make weight, his wife Caitlin (Balfe) watches on as his obsession with drastic and gruelling weight loss methods takes hold.
The logline reads: “After a career-ending defeat, a former champion trains for redemption – but as obsession takes hold and reality unravels, he may be spiraling into something far more terrifying.”
Penned by Justin Bull, The Cut is now available to stream on Sky Cinema and NOW for subscribers with a Cinema membership.
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Released in cinemas in the UK last year, The Cut received positive reviews from critics and currently holds a 69% rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 54 reviews.
NYC Movie Guru said of the film: “An exhilarating psychological sports drama that also serves as a character study. It’s on-the-nose and not very profound, but it does feature a career-best performance by Orlando Bloom and an impressive performance by John Turturro.”
“Bloom plays his role with a feral commitment, and while Turturro has portrayed several villains in his career, here his refusal to ingratiate even slightly yields a genuinely frightening characterization,” said The New York Times.
“The film is bookended by quiet scenes between a man and a woman, by beautifully understated performances by Bloom and Balfe,” penned The Wrap.
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Radio Times wrote: “Bloom’s performance, though physically impressive, cannot quite get to the heart of the character. Still, it is never less than grimly compelling.”
While some reviews were glowing, not everyone had the same opinion, with The Guardian writing: “The more British director Sean Ellis prods and provokes, the hokier it all gets, a film about cutting weight that could have benefited from a leaner edit.”
The Cut is now available to stream on Sky Cinema/NOW.