A Thousand Little Cuts movie review

MOVIE TITLE: A Thousand Little Cuts

This dramatic movie by Vision Films releases on Video on Demands on May 3, 2022

RATING: R

LENGTH: 87 minutes

IN A NUTSHELL:

A young woman wakes up injured in the hospital without any recollection of how or why she is there. While a compassionate psychologist helps her journey through repressed memories and incidents leading up to the traumatic event, an impatient police detective pushes for answers. As facts begin to surface, the young woman’s subconscious fights to keep the truth hidden.

The film was written, directed, and even produced by Joshua Brandon. I was kind of surprised, assuming it had been done by a woman because of the nature of the story.

THINGS I LIKED:

There aren’t big-name actors in this but you might recognize a few of the faces: Marina Sirtis (Star Trek: The Next Generation), Rebecca Liddiard (Alias Grace), Andrew Creer (Lethal Weapon), Randy Wayne (Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning), and Colin Ferguson (Eureka, Vampire Diaries).
I enjoyed the “whodunnit” element, as well as the non-linear method of storytelling.
Just when you think the story is over, it keeps going with another twist.
There’s an interesting conversation about how we often make convenient “edits” to our truth. There is no verb for truth, yet many for telling lies. It’s a clever insight, especially because the protagonist is an editor in her job.
The title comes from an insightful line in the movie.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

There are a lot of flashbacks as the timeline jumps back and forth that might confuse viewers.
Some of the characters are super cliched and paper-thin, especially ALL of the men.
Most women who watch this movie are going to go away feeling angry and confirmed in their belief that all men are terrible. They’re not. I have a wonderful husband and 4 awesome sons who are good and kind.
Too much crude content for my taste.
There are definitely some bad acting moments and overacting moments, but overall, the cast does a decent job.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

This movie is NOT appropriate for children
Parents, if you watch this with your daughters, talk about what Anne did right or wrong
Some profanity and crude language, including F-bombs
The first scene isn’t graphic but alludes to a rape
Several sex scenes
You see inappropriate texts and conversations

THEMES:

Pre-marital relations
Slimy sales & marketing
Dating
Pharmaceuticals
Dissociative amnesia
Abuse
Relationships
PTSD
Repressed memories
Toxic masculinity
Truth
Healing

FUNNY LINES:

None. This is a serious drama.

INTERESTING LINES:

“Men are trash.” – Anne (Rebecca Liddiard)
“Punctuation is a thing for me.” – Anne (Rebecca Liddiard)
“Even if he didn’t lay a finger (on you)… disrespecting you, disrespecting your work, making you feel unimportant…that’s abuse.” – Monica Atlas (Marina Sirtis)
“You can’t base your whole sense of happiness on other people. It’s too much pressure.” – Monica Atlas (Marina Sirtis)
“What happens now?” – Anne (Rebecca Liddiard) “You get better.” – Monica Atlas (Marina Sirtis)