Inside Review
Inside (2024) Film Review from the 24th Annual Tribeca Film Festival, a movie written and directed by Charles Williams and starring Guy Pearce, Cosmo Jarvis, Vincent Miller, Toby Wallace, Tammy Macintosh, Nikki Shiels, Sean Millis, Chloe Hayden, Steve Mouzakis, Leah Vandenberg, Elle Mandalis, Sarah Ellis Holland, Luke Elliot and David Margetts.
Filmmaker Charles Williams creates a vivid portrait of several intertwined lives of prison inmates in the harrowing and powerful new drama, Inside. Guy Pearce is featured in the movie as the wise-beyond-his-years prisoner, Warren Murfett. Pearce is predictably exceptional in this role, but the real surprise is that his two main co-stars, Cosmo Jarvis and Vincent Miller, in particular, more than hold their own beside him. This is a rough movie to watch at times for its graphic intensity and vivid sense of despair. Yet, the three principal performers make the film a powerful and disturbing portrait of their characters’ situations. They play men who have messed their lives up beyond a reasonable doubt and may never be able to be redeemed under circumstances which are often hopeless in their excesses.
This film focuses on the young man, Mel Blight (Miller), who is impulsive, reckless and violent. He befriends Warren (Pearce) in prison and the two form a bond that is showcased at the center of the picture. Jarvis serves as one of the most despised inmates, Mark Shepard, who runs his mouth at the prison as he believes he has things to say which are of great relevance. Shepard may be something of a lowlife, but he’s also hanging on to this life by a very thin thread. Many people in the prison would like to eliminate Shepard from the facility. In the story line, Mel is employed by Warren to stab Shepard after attempting to fool him into thinking he will perform oral sex on him. We soon learn that Shepard doesn’t even have a penis and speculations arise as to how, exactly, that happened, but it’s clear that Shepard is probably on borrowed time throughout the film.
When the movie shows the despair and intensity of Warren’s life inside, it also takes time to center around Mel’s rehabilitation. Mel isn’t without hope although he does some pretty stupid things in the film such as leave the knife that Warren asked him to stab Shepard with under Shepard’s bed in his prison cell. Chalk it up to Mel’s lack of common sense. Mel and Warren connect and Mel soon takes chances to stand by Warren as the pair find out that they do have similar intentions regarding trying to get out. One of these characters may have a real chance to be freed while the other may not have a genuine chance at all. Is it too late to teach an old dog like Warren new tricks?
One scene has Warren getting violent with a cell mate who takes a picture of one of Warren’s young family members to get off to. Another terrific sequence involves an attempt by a key character to take vengeance on another during a religious service at the prison. Mel intervenes and the possibility arises that maybe Warren and Mel can’t stay in this situation forever. One of them has to be set free and one of them has to deal with the consequences of his own actions, for better or worse.
Guy Pearce has never been better in a leading role. Following his stupendous work in The Brutalist, Pearce’s complexity on-screen is fascinating to watch as the viewer wonders which way his character will turn next. Warren’s unpredictability drives much of the plot and keeps the viewer riveted throughout. It’s an accomplished piece of acting from one of our finest actors. Vincent Miller’s Mel is just as fierce and hard to figure out. Mel can be on the same page as Warren one minute and acting impulsively the next. Miller is a star-in-the-making and this performance will put him right on the map as a talent to contend with.
Cosmo Jarvis puts it all on the line and comes up with an amazing, layered performance playing a despicable man who has miraculously lasted as long as he has in the prison system. Jarvis is authentic beyond a reasonable doubt and is both frightening and genuine. This character has made severe mistakes, but the fact that he attempts to take a shot at keeping it all together makes him somewhat respectable despite his past mistakes. He tries to maintain the status quo at the prison under otherwise dire circumstances. in support, Tammy Macintosh is incredibly perfect as the intelligent warden who adds her two cents to the action that occurs throughout the picture.
Inside features many scenes that will disturb the viewer to the core, but there’s a human story between Mel and Warren that drives the film and makes it compelling to watch. This film’s biggest strength is its ability to surprise the viewer with its deep plot revelations. At the end, we understand the bond between Mel and Warren and believe it can sustain some pretty violent situations that both characters become involved in over the course of the picture.
While inside isn’t the definitive prison film, it’s an exercise in displaying the complexities of a system where people can get away with murder for a little while if they play their cards right. These prisoners’ lives are a gamble at any given moment and everything can slip away from these troubled characters in a heartbeat. This movie is powerfully rendered and proves Guy Pearce is one of the hardest working actors in the business.
Rating: 7.5/10
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