Film Review - Inside
Images courtesy of Bonsai Films.
Charles William's feature debut is a snapshot of the bleakness within the prison system, and the people who are drawn into it. Guy Pearce plays Warren Murfett, a grizzled, worn inmate who is tasked with protecting Mel Blight (Vincent Miller). Inside follows their pseudo father-son relationship as it grows and morphs within the difficult environment around them. Mel reckons with the relationship he has to his own history, and the developing connection he shares with the fanatical Mark Shepard (Cosmo Jarvis), the preacher he has been assigned by Murfett to kill.
Jarvis' performance is of particular note. He brings an eerie, pious energy to the role of Mark Shepard that paints him as the proverbial eye of the hurricane that revolves around Mel. Shepard's unstable and unnerving energy provides a perfect foil for the laid back Murfett - a fantastic, grounded performance by the recently Oscar-nominated Pearce. Miller's debut performance as Mel is enigmatic and unassuming, a perfect match for the energies brought by Pearce and Jarvis.
Despite being a beautifully shot movie, Inside is an innately ugly film that doesn't hold your hand through dark depictions of life within the system. This is a movie about broken people, in a broken system that was meant to protect them. Held together by the performances of all three leading actors, the drama has your eyes glued to the screen, somehow simultaneously both horrified and fixed to what will happen next.
Inside challenges our own beliefs in the cycle of violence, a cycle that plays a central part in so many of the characters’ stories. It meditates on themes of forgiveness, and the difference between the understanding we are able to afford ourselves, and the acceptance we might receive from others.
While I wouldn't recommend watching this movie while eating, Charles William's Inside is a well-directed debut feature that is unforgiving, and filled with stand out moments from the whole cast.
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Inside is screening in cinemas from Thursday the 27th of February. For tickets and more info, click here.