A novelist dies after undergoing multiple plastic surgeries. Detectives believe that her doctor took unnecessary risks and falsified documents to cover it up. The DA's office charges him wit... Read allA novelist dies after undergoing multiple plastic surgeries. Detectives believe that her doctor took unnecessary risks and falsified documents to cover it up. The DA's office charges him with criminally negligent homicide.A novelist dies after undergoing multiple plastic surgeries. Detectives believe that her doctor took unnecessary risks and falsified documents to cover it up. The DA's office charges him with criminally negligent homicide.
Photos
- DA Arthur Branch
- (as Fred Dalton Thompson)
- Angela Gusmarino
- (as Roxanna Hope)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaDetective Joe Fontana and Dr. Lawrence's receptionist bond over being Chicago natives and Cubs fans. Dennis Farina actually was a Cubs fan in real life.
- GoofsThe deceased's name is Nora Hackett and she used the pen name Corrine King. In court the defense attorney refers to her as "Nora King".
- Quotes
Hotel Manager: Excuse me, have you any idea when you'll be done in here? The hotel is fully committed.
Detective Joe Fontana: This is a crime scene. It... it says so right there on the tape.
Hotel Manager: Yes, but that doesn't tell me when I get the room back.
Detective Joe Fontana: Can I see you just for a sec?
[he leads the manager a couple feet into the room]
Detective Joe Fontana: It's gonna take however long it takes, do you understand me? And if you get in our way, or don't cooperate with us, we're gonna turn this whole hotel into a crime scene. And that's gonna be really bad for business. Now, excuse us.
Season 15 did get off to a shaky start, as did the character of Fontana, but saw steady improvement as it went along. Or at least the first half (the second varied wildly). One of the best episodes of the season is "Cut", which fortunately is in the former category of unsettling and thought probing and managing not to be too derivative. And this is a kind of story that could have been derivative and been problematically executed, but turned out not to be.
"Cut" is great in almost every area. The production values are suitably slick and gritty, with photography that is reliant on close ups that have an intimacy without being too claustrophobic. The music is didn't come over as too melodramatic or like it was emphasising the emotion too much. The direction is sympathetic while still giving momentum. A vast majority of the acting is excellent, with the standout being a very sleazy Bruce Altman. The highlight scene dramatically is agreed the big scene between him and Sam Waterston's McCoy outside court.
Furthermore, the script is very sharp, thoughtful and punchy, especially in the dramatically scorching final third. The subject is handled tactfully but at the same time also unflinchingly, leaving me both shocked and angry at how anybody could even contemplate let alone do what is done. The story keeps one glued to the edge of the seat and keeps one guessing all the way through to the episode's not predictable end. The legal portion being even better than the still enormously entertaining and grippingly gritty policing, an aspect that has come on a good deal since the season's first episode.
Only dull Elisabeth Rohm doesn't come off particularly well.
Great episode all in all. 9/10.
- TheLittleSongbird
- Jul 25, 2022