By Erin Free
The dreamy, highly unconventional dramatic thriller Cutter’s Way – which saw a minor release in 1981, and then pretty much disappeared afterward – is a film about charismatic, deeply damaged people who constantly find themselves on the outside looking in. In a strange twist, nearly all of those involved with the film occupy similar territory. Leading man Jeff Bridges has never been the bona fide superstar that his looks and talent practically demand; co-star John Heard now slaves away in TV roles and the most undemanding of supporting parts; talented and intriguing leading lady Lisa Eichorn never got a role that allowed her the room to move that she gets here, and she’s now working principally in guest roles on TV; and talented Czech émigré director Ivan Passer never directed anything nearly as good as this again. The feeling of missed opportunities and career injustice informs this little known gem, and makes it an even more fascinating experience.
Richard Bone (Bridges at his flawed, beautiful best) is a low rent gigolo who pleases older women for chump change. He hangs around the marinas of LA in a constant funk of diffidence, only half living his life. His best friend is Alex Cutter (a truly explosive, career-best turn from Heard), a belligerent Vietnam vet who came back from the war minus an arm, leg and eye. He’s pissed off, rebellious, philosophical and suspicious of everyone in power. Cutter’s wife is the faded beauty Mo (Eichorn displays a stunning mix of strength and fragility), swimming in a mess of booze and melancholy, and gently fighting off the feelings of Bone, who carries a barely concealed torch for her. When Bone witnesses the dumping of a body in an LA alley, Cutter jumps to the – possibly true, perhaps not – conclusion that the killer is powerful businessman JJ Cord (Stephen Elliott). With the chip on his shoulder growing, Cutter cajoles Bone, along with the dead girl’s sister (Ann Dusenberry), into joining him in an investigation into the murder, with an eye to exposing Cord as the killer that he may very well be.
Shot with strange, almost surreal flourishes, and driven by an ethereal score from the brilliant Jack Nitzsche, Cutter’s Way is a downbeat, blackly funny meditation on broken dreams, unfulfilled potential and the desperate need for justice in an increasingly corrupt world. That may sound depressing, but Cutter’s Way really soars.
