A decent but troubled young man is sent to a psychiatric institution for the criminally insane and soon finds himself in a fight for his life battling ghosts inside his head and very real en... Read allA decent but troubled young man is sent to a psychiatric institution for the criminally insane and soon finds himself in a fight for his life battling ghosts inside his head and very real enemies all around him.A decent but troubled young man is sent to a psychiatric institution for the criminally insane and soon finds himself in a fight for his life battling ghosts inside his head and very real enemies all around him.
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The film was very well written, it was engaging, the actors were impressive and there was genuine emotional involvement.
But after watching it, instead of thinking "what a good film", all I could think was "what was the point of that?" And I'm not even someone who thinks films have to have deep and meaningful things to say but even Transformers has a point (save the world etc.) There is literally no reason for this film unless I missed something. Is there a message about being good? about rehabilitation? loneliness? what?! I don't know and I don't think I can recommend people watch a film that is so pointless.
I would give the film a 5 for "overall" enjoyment and at least 7 for the overall great execution of the film so I will rate it a 6.
Watch it if you are a fan of any of the actors because you won't be bored but don't be surprised when you feel strangely disappointed after watching.
This film has received generally low ratings and reviews, and I find that unfortunate. I saw one review saying this film had no point. I will not even address that. I did find it extremely odd that an intelligent young man was put in a psychiatric ward when he is clearly a rational person. What he did was heinous, but completely understandable and not in any way due to mental illness. But, oh well.
That issue aside, the acting is great (without the need for "big names"), the story is fantastic (not your typical prison story), the directing is more than adequate. The actor who plays Ben really steals the show. I am sad to see that Olivia Wilde does little more than serve as the romantic interest. Her mental issues could be a good story of their own, but are more or less completely ignored.
Great film? Probably not. But better than average and worth seeing.
We don't really see the characters grow, or change, except for some subtle realizations at the end. What we do get is a slowly deepening glimpse into the minds of some some very confused people and the deeper we go, the more human they become to us. This movie is really trying to tell us that among the most damaged people in our society, while many are beyond redemption, others are just trying to find happiness, and to figure out what that is for them and if it is even possible given their flawed natures.
The story meanders quite a bit. It takes a few detours into the killing, his past while we wait for the action to start. The pace is rather slow and the action doesn't start till the end. Nick Stahl doesn't have enough emotional drama. If this was a character study, they needed to get him to overcome emotional hurdles.
Also I need to mention the great job of Pruitt Taylor Vince as he was great as supporting cast. It's freaky how he makes his eyes go back and forth so quickly, I just about blinded myself trying to do it *>)
Did you know
- Quotes
Ben Marshal: I want to be happy. I think that's what I want. There's this other thing in me, though, that doesn't seem to care about that. I think... I just, I have to think... all this was handed down to me. Like, it's been always coming down to me from somewhere. Like, from somewhere before there were horses, before... I dunno, like by a great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great... What was I saying?
- How long is On the Inside?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $4,000,000 (estimated)
- Runtime
- 1h 35m(95 min)
- Color