Mel Blight (Vincent Miller) has just been transferred from the juvenile prison he has known for years to an adult prison in Inside. As luck would have it, Mel gets assigned to bunk with Mark Shepard (Cosmo Jarvis). He quickly learns that Shepard is one of Australia’s most infamous criminals and despised across the country. Shepard is trying to reform himself and has found religion. In fact he leads sermons at the prison that he involves Mel in almost right off the bat.
Another inmate, Warren Murfett (Guy Pearce), is close to being paroled. The prison staff task him with taking Mel under his wing and essentially keeping him out of trouble. Mel has a fractured relationship with his father and Warren is in a similar situation with his son. Both have the opportunity to fill that hole in their lives with each other. Mel tries to navigate the bonds he is forming with both Shepard and Warren. However there may be anterior motives at play which can throw a wrench in both relationships.
Charles Williams both wrote and directed the film. Inside is Williams feature length debut. He has served in both capacities for projects in the past, however they were all shorts. Williams’s script examines the psyche of prisoners within the system. Several deeper themes are touched upon which serve both as a glimpse into the prison system and to help connect the audience to the characters. That being said, the film features a couple of truly graphic moments that are not for the faint of heart.
Inside splices different timelines, giving the audience background into what has shaped the characters. Williams & co. use colors and shades to help highlight the differences. Warm and colorful imagery for nice memories of the outside and bleak grays for the situation they find themselves currently in. However the jumps seem muddled at times and a bit difficult to follow. The performances by the cast are strong across the board. Inside is an interesting and powerful film, albeit hard to watch at times. It is worth checking out, but temper any expectations for sunshine and rainbows.
