Proving once more that Australian cinema does gritty as well as anyone else, Charles Williams feature debut Inside is a notably intense local offering that draws out memorable performances from its trio of talented performers, Guy Pearce, international import and Shogun breakout star Cosmo Jarvis and newcomer Vincent Miller.
An unflinching look at prison life and those that inhabit the walls of similar institutions around the world, there's a lot of familiar ingredients to Inside, such is the nature of any prison set movie/series, but Williams infuses his tale of Miller's Mel moving from a juvenile detention centre to an adult prison with enough unique ideas and sensibilities that helps ensure Inside has enough fresh ideas to give viewers something to engage with.
A bleak affair that doesn't offer up any glimmers of reprieve as Mel becomes acquainted with Jarvis's unhinged inmate/preacher Mark Shepard and Pearce's jaded and close to release Warren Murfett, Inside is an intense watch across its 100 minutes and while not all of its story beats or story arcs culminate or evolve as well as you're hoping for initially, there's a quiet power to this tale and the performances within in it.
Suggesting that he is going to be a homegrown talent to keep an eye on, Miller does some noteworthy work as the softly spoken and inwardly tormented Mel.
Holding his own against the well-known talents of Pearce and the growing repertoire of Jarvis who continues to redefine himself as a performer, Miller is the heart and soul of Inside as a young man given little hope or support battles to understand his identity and to understand how a life outside of the prison walls would look for him.
With Miller making his mark he's only overshadowed by the fact Pearce continues to be one of the industries most undervalued actors and that Jarvis is becoming one of the industries most interesting.
Both actors are on top notch form here and give Inside an added gravitas that should appeal to an international audience when their able to find and watch this film for themselves.
Overall Inside is an impressively polished and delivered debut feature from Williams.
Showcasing a keen eye and restraint behind the camera and an ability to work with performers both young and old, based off this it's highly likely that we are seeing the early flames of a bright directional career ahead for our Australian filmmaker.
Final Say -
It doesn't break any new ground but Inside is a top quality local production with a string of stirring performances, making it one of the best Australian features of the last few years all the while announcing Vincent Miller and Charles Williams as future stars of the Aussie film landscape.
3 1/2 swiss army knives out of 5.
