Meg Ryan’s career-shaking move: “It was a sexual thing, and sex throws people”
Acting is a highly competitive and cutthroat profession, but when you reach the levels of stardom and acclaim possessed by Nicole Kidman, it becomes much easier to form close connections with filmmakers and even collaborate.
The Australian star began acting in films in her native country before breaking into Hollywood in the early 1990s. She became more well-known after starring in Batman Forever and To Die For, although it was her turn in Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut that exposed her to an even wider audience.
Since then, Kidman has divided her time between some popular, commercially successful movies and more experimental titles, appearing in everything from Birth and Dogville to Moulin Rouge! and The Stepford Wives. The actor is one of the most familiar faces in Hollywood, and as of late, it seems as though Kidman has dedicated herself to as many projects as possible, racking up a prolific list of titles.
Alongside acting, Kidman has also produced five films, including the Selena Gomez-led teen movie Monte Carlo and the Jason Bateman-directed The Family Fang. However, her first film as a producer came in 2003 when she helped to develop Jane Campion’s In The Cut.
The pair had worked together before on the Oscar-nominated film The Portrait of a Lady in 1996, with Kidman deeply admiring Campion as a director. Thus, they chose to work together again for In The Cut, which was based on the novel of the same name by Susanna Moore. Kidman seemed perfect for the role of Frannie, a woman who becomes sexually involved with a detective after a body part is found in her garden. Having starred in various erotic thrillers, Kidman surely would have thrived in the role, but instead, she had to drop out.
Talking to The New York Times, Kidman revealed, “I was developing it with Jane for a number of years with Susanna Moore. I had a bad knee injury. A lot of things I didn’t do because of that injury, and I don’t like to talk about films that you end up not doing. I basically was unable to stand for more than 10 seconds for about a year. I can’t work injured.”
Thus, the part ended up going to Meg Ryan, with Kidman stating, “Jane wanted to make it, so I was so happy when Meg Ryan got that chance.” It wasn’t the kind of part Ryan was usually offered, having spent most of her career appearing in romantic comedies or dramas. Kidman continued, “I suppose having Meg step in and do something she’d never had the chance to do was exciting for her.”
Yet, when In The Cut was released, Ryan was bombarded with backlash, predominantly because she appeared nude, which shocked many people. Michael Parkinson even questioned Ryan’s decisions in an interview, asking her why she possibly thought it would be okay to appear naked in a film.
She told The New York Times, “I know that when I did In The Cut, the reaction was vicious.”
She added, “I feel like that might’ve been the last movie I did. I was surprised by the negative reaction. I loved the movie and loved that experience and loved Jane Campion.” Sadly, people found her foray into more shocking cinematic territory disagreeable. “In The Cut was a sexual thing, and sex throws people. I’d never presented myself like that before; it was so different from my assigned archetype. Probably, I had a very neutered image.”
Since then, Ryan has hardly reached the heights of her career in the ‘90s, appearing in less than ten movies since the release of In The Cut over 20 years ago.
