Cutting Moments-Movie Review

Cutting Moments

Dir. Doug Buck
USA 1995 16mm Running Time: 25 min.

Douglas Buck's controversial Cutting Moments is the first in his Family Trilogy(the final entry, Prologue is currently in production) and remains on of the most sad and disturbing short films ever committed to celluloid.

A middle-aged woman (Nica Ray, daughter of esteemed director Nicholas Ray) is stuck in comatose marriage with a smug man whose sexual attentions are reserved for their young son. She has resigned herself to worthlessness, and feels that her inability to arouse her husband is somehow responsible for the molestation of the boy, who is already exhibiting signs of sexual confusion and trauma.

In a moment of reflection, she wills herself from victim to catalyst, and performs a sacrificial act that she hopes will redeem her family from its dilapidated state.

Kier-La Janisse

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