Cutterâs Way
Sometimes an actor goes an entire career in establishing a screen persona that can almost be considered safe, reliable and dependable, essentially looking, talking and usually acting the same way (with some variation) in such a way that the persona not only comes to define the actor, but unfortunately also results in people generally thinking of him for that persona, not realizing what that actor is truly capable of were he to go full blown into a character that was almost 100% the opposite of that persona. One such actor was John Heard, a guy whom audiences associated most often with milquetoast nice guys (with the occasional prick character being thrown in there), best known as the harried father to Macaulay Culkin in the Home Alone movies but still someone who spent much of his career (before dying in 2017) playing different forms of that type of role. With one exception. In 1981, Heard starred as the title character in this offbeat thriller / comedy / drama, a daring mix of genres as it were and something that might have been completely forgotten were it not for Heardâs unforgettable performance as Alex Cutter, a bitter, disabled Vietnam war veteran with an alcohol problem and an even more profound tendency to believe something paranoid in his mind as being the truth and never letting go of it. Looking almost like Snake Plissken on crutches (long hair, eyepatch, beard stubble) and stomping around on an insane mission to bring justice (in his eyes) to someone who would easily get away from it otherwise, Heardâs performance is just so many worlds away from his later roles that itâs not even funny, the living definition of the terms tour de force, no holds barred and letting everything hang loose onscreen. If not for the filmâs halfway controversial subject matter and haphazard release, there can be little doubt that a relevatory performance like this would have gotten some serious Oscar consideration. In fact, the studio (United Artists) had little to no idea what to do with the movie until it started scooping up awards on the film festival circuit and receiving critical raves along with a small yet devoted cult movie fanbase.  Even the production of the film is interesting, as the studio refused to even make it unless a big name was attached and as Heard had only done stage work at that point and was still an unknown, they signed Jeff Bridges to co star as Cutterâs best friend, Richard Bone, a lazy, unmotivated gigolo with bleach blonde hair and tan body who splits his time between screwing rich women in hotel rooms, living on a boat docked in the marina where he occasionally sells boats on the side and hanging out at his best friendâs house where he lives with his wife Mo (Lisa Eichhorn).  It is Bridgesâ character who sets the plot in motion when his piece of shit car breaks down in an alley in the rain only to witness somebody else drive up, stuff something in the garbage and then nearly run him down while driving away. Turns out that what went in the garbage was the dead body of a 17-year old girl who was dressed like a streetwalker despite it being said that she was a cheerleader as well. After Bridges is questioned by the cops, he goes back to hanging with Heard and his wife when suddenly he identifies the face of the man he saw stuffing the body in the trash. It turns out to be the nearest billionaire (Stephen Elliot, seemingly warming up for his rich bastard role opposite Dudley Moore in Arthur) living in the town of Santa Barbara where the story takes place and when Heard hears this from Bridges (who didnât stutter nor did he say âit might be himâ), he goes on a complete tangent, deciding that having the goods on one billionaire is as good as any, especially since he feels that it was guys like that who sent him out to die in Nam and who probably also think that they can rape and murder teenage girls at random and completely get away with it thanks to their wealth and prestige.  Heard even goes so far as to enlist the victimâs sister (Ann Dusenberry) onto a plan whereby they will send an anonymous letter to the billionaire saying that they have evidence of his crime upon which they will try to blackmail him for a certain amount of money and then (so Heard claims) when they receive the money they will turn him over to the police anyway and give the money back on the pretense that the old man agreeing to pay will be considered to be a confession. The funny thing is that Bridges (whose recognizing the billionaire as the killer is what set off Heard with this plan in the first place) is rather ambiguous about whether or not he really wants to go along with this plan, knowing full well that Heard is more interested in gaining the satisfaction of saying that he brought down a rich man (and one who made his money in oil at that) than he is with avenging a dead teenage girl whom he has never met. In fact, ambiguous is really the name of the game here, as the whole plot hinges on Heardâs anger filled yet sometimes hilarious and at other times mesmerizing ranting and raving. Is he really on to something here? Is the rich man truly evil? Did Bridges really get a good enough look at the killer to make a positive ID? Or is this just a story about two losers with nothing to go on who decide to try and stick it to the rich man? Given that one loser is Jeff Bridges and the other is a deranged Vietnam vet, one might say that this film is a pretty serious, dramatic precursor to The Big Lebowski given those plot elements, but the difference maker is that John Heardâs Cutter is ready, willing and able to go all the way to the grave if it means that he will be proven right even as Bridges (the actual witness) offers his participation in the most casual and cautious of manners forever trying to talk his best friend out of having anything more to do with this (which admittedly does mirror his later role as The Dude). What might be most ambiguous of all though is the three way relationship between Heard, Bridges and Heardâs wife (Eichhorn), first seen greeting Bridges home from his latest âappointmentâ with a bottle of booze in her hand and an obvious fondness for this pretty boy goofball. Apparently there had been a friendly back and forth between the two best friends over her before she decided to marry Heard (probably before he went over to Nam) and now that Heard (whoâs missing an arm and also has a prosthetic leg) is more abusive to her now due to his disabilities, there seems to be more of a casual relationship between her and Bridges which Heard appears to be aware of and seemingly even encourages (at one point he even invites Bridges to join them in their bedroom so that she can enjoy âtwo good armsâ). In fact, what sets the film apart in many ways is that despite the âbillionaire conspiracyâ angle of the storyline, the script allows for ample amounts of character development for its three leads, not only displaying Bridgesâ high aptitude at being a ladiesâ man (which The Dude admittedly was not), but also with Eichhornâs tragically broken wife and her constant depression spells on top of telling the other two that this entire plan of theirs is halfass and doomed to fail. But the really juicy bits still all belong to Heard, cackling maniacally and figuring out an entire plan of attack, using another mutual friend who works for the billionaire to gain access to his country club and allowing us to enjoy such moments as his Cutter crazily firing bullets into a stuffed animal when things donât quite go his way. But the most amazing scene occurs when Heard drunkenly comes home and winds up smashing the neighborâs car in the process, drawing his ire and getting him to call the police. Heard goes inside, changes shirts, fixes himself up and even drinks half a bottle of mouthwash, only to emerge from his house and deal with the police in a calm, evenhanded manner (as opposed to the enraged neighbor whoâs still screaming and yelling) and for this one scene in the movie (despite his appearance) heâs actually the same old John Heard whom we all know and love(!), mercifully pleading with the cops to take it easy on him because heâs disabled and that heâs sorry for any trouble he may have caused. And they do, leaving him to snicker at the neighbor after the cops have driven away.  For fans of obscure, underappreciated movies (and very underappreciated performances), youâre not going to get any better than this one, a meditation on the feelings of rage carried by a traumatized Vietnam veteran against anyone or anything whom he personally holds responsible for having sent him off thereâŚ
9/10