WRITER AND DIRECTOR
Charles Williams
Feature film debut 

STARS
Vincent Miller, Guy Pearce and Cosmo Jarvis

How many of your own actions that end with you inside can you truly be held fully accountable for when what is happening while you are inside the womb and inside your home as a child is ultimately setting you up for this fate?

That is one of a few thought-provoking and worthy points asked and observed in this absorbing yet ambiguously written Australian prison drama.

Mel Bright (newcomer Vincent Miller) is a fresh-faced and innocent appearing adolescent when he is transferred from juvenile to adult prison. He seemingly isn’t the least bit remorseful either, even though he is close to parole. Once inside, he learns his cellmate will be none other than one of Australia’s most notorious criminals, Mark Shephard (Cosmo Jarvis), who has been in confinement until now and has found God along the way. Mark sees a place for the observant Mel in his Pentacostal Christian spin-off church services and welcomes him to play music while he plays the role of prison pastor. Though being taken under his wing, it is fellow inmate Warren Murfett (a sterling Guy Pearce) that Mel truly bonds with. Warren is approaching his release from prison and is desperately keen to make amends to his son for not being a part of his life for all these years. A plan that will prove to be more problematic than he anticipated.

Make no mistake, despite any constructive criticism I write of this film, Inside definitely has something.

An extrapolation of the Palme d’Or winning short film All These Creatures by Inside’s feature film debut writer and director Charles Williams, there are some very worthy thoughts from personal experiences incorporated throughout the film that do exhibit its storytelling motivation comes from the heart.

At various times, its narrative appears to be questioning parole and the process of it. The reform of prisoners, what to do with ones that will never have remorse for their transgressions, keeping them inside vs releasing them to society. And of course, what I’ve mentioned in the opening sentence of this review. If there is a pathway to redemption inside, where and how can it be accessible when all you are surrounded by men of malevolent intent and malicious damage?

Inside succeeds at provoking this type of thought and questions but its writing and direction isn’t as distinctive or descriptive as needed. This felt the case during my pre-release screening and could be reconciled for me once reading the film’s production notes. I feel like some finer tuning in writing especially to make certain details, connections and themes clearer and complete could have made Inside an outstanding debut feature for Charles Williams. The writing also missed a very worthy opportunity to associate itself with another current and significant real-life problem in Australian prisons – the over-representation of our indigenous population and their tragic deaths in custody. There was absolutely a place for this via an additional character and sub-plot that in my view would have elevated this experience to potentially epic proportion.

Inside is showing in selected cinemas across Australia from February 27th.

Moviedoc thanks Bonsai Films and Nixco for the invitation to the screening of this film.

Review by Leigh for Moviedoc

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