The Cut Runs Deep

A young half-Korean food deliverer is bored by his life and joins a gang. Their leader is a quiet, thoughtful and protective guy who nevertheless causes a lot of bloodshed during the film. By copying Scorsese's Italian mafia slang (with a lot of 'fu**s) spitted out by the gangsters) and relying on amateur actors (a former waiter and a model) who are surprisingly unattractive, the film almost loses its big points made through fine lightsetting and camerawork. Director John H. Lee studied at the Tisch School of Arts in N.Y. THE CUT RUNS DEEP doesn't look like the debut movie it is. A promising director - I hope they send him some good actors.

Stealing techniques from directors such as Scorsese, Tarantino, Woo and even Wong Kar-Wai, director John H. Lee has created a visually slick but highly derivative film. Virtually every major scene in this movie appears to have been stolen from a well-known film. The cliche-ridden script is essentially a ripoff of Martin Scorsese's 'GoodFellas' and like 'GoodFellas', chronicles a naive young man's transformation into a "gangsta". Unfortunately, the main character never gets developed (many gaps exist in the story) and the script is plagued by an overabundance of stock characters (prostitute girlfriend, laconic but "scary" boss, Pesci-style loose cannon). It was especially painful to hear the amateur Asian American actors recite their dialogue, which was written in an embarrassingly self-conscious and inauthentic "gangsta" style. Every tough guy line ends up sounding extremely fake and forced. If John Lee wanted to make an Asian American gangster movie, he should have used a screenplay about Asian Americans using more realistic Asian American crime situations. Merely inserting Asian American actors into a ripped-off gangster story does not create anything worth watching.

The film is like a rollercoaster ride of the heart. Director Lee successfully transmits the pain of growing up. There are some emotionally visceral moments, especially in the final third. But there are meditative moments as well. And action sequences are thoroughly exciting. All in all, it's a spiritual tour de force. Lee seems to have drawn his inspiration from Scorsese, and it shows. His future seems very promising. It's unbelievable that this movie is his debut feature. He seems so comfortable with the widescreen (anamorphic) canvas. The talented new actors, on the other hand, give some honest performances. I recommend this movie.