INSIDE

Posted by Canfield at 2:17pm.

Posted in Film & DVD Reviews .

So often DVD reviews are a way to recommend what you may have missed. This intense psychodrama is that rarest of rare independent movie birds. It is well acted, well directed, well written and well…. it just flies. Where most films dealing with madness tend to over emphasize genre elements this movie barely acknowledges they exist instead Inside offers deep character development and a chance to ponder the relationship between grief, madness and evil by setting its events well within the boundaries of near reality. Anyone who doesn’t think this story could unfold in real life almost exactly as it does here is invited to start paying closer attention to the news.

A strangely quiet young librarian has a habit of following strangers. After following two patrons home he is discovered. But instead of calling the police they are astonished to see that he is the spitting image of their dead son. What starts out as a touching encounter quickly devolves into madness when he finds himself unable to leave.

You keep waiting for characters here to do the obvious thing that you would do but then you start thinking about that guy you knew, that friend you had, that would have probably done exactly what the characters in this film here. This is restrained and might ultimately be a tad slow for those expecting the sorts of thrills American films go for when setting up a plot like this. But I believe larger statements are being made here. There plot twists aplenty and some genuine suspense but the film is carried by the very real tension inherent in its central tragedy, the inability of the films characters to move beyond their grief over losing a loved one. This is intelligent creative storytelling that deserves a chance to find an audience and I’m surprised I didn’t hear about this hitting the festival circuit prior to its release on DVD. Extras include a directors commentary.

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kidlazarus 03/02/2008 @ 8:06am

Absolutely agree about seeing this in a theater. Just caught this at the Lincoln Center.

The transfer to dvd had better be top notch as many scenes operate in shadow and darkness. Remarkable how some of the shots of Beatrice Dalle resemble cover artwork for Diamanda Galas’s Litanies of Satan and Vena Cava.

The original poster art is far superior to the Dimension Extreme design.
ForgottenFilms 03/02/2008 @ 9:42am

I was surprised you didn’t cover this in your upcoming releases o DVD a few articles down. I pre-ordered mine last week.
Blake 03/02/2008 @ 10:09am

Well that sucks they aren’t porting over the audio commentary from the French disc. They also talked at one point of releasing the soundtrack in conjunction with the US release.

The artwork looks oddly derivative - cut and paste. The actual original poster artwork for the film would have been preferred.
Rhythm-X 03/02/2008 @ 10:13am

Derivative? The Weinsteins? Who dares spread such lies about the people who brought you the other THE PROTECTOR, the other THE ENFORCER, and the other DRAGON HEAT?
The Visitor 03/02/2008 @ 4:32pm

yeah, shuddup and be grateful.
ErikLeafinson 03/03/2008 @ 6:22am

Just saw this at Lincoln Center too. Sad it’s being denied a theatrical release to a bigger audience, thrilled it’s coming out on DVD, really really upset by that DVD cover. What a film though…
fudduf 03/03/2008 @ 9:13am

i also hope the transfer is top notch so that the CGI baby and fire look worse than they already do. :p

i thought this was a decent first effort but the premise was better than the execution. especially towards the final third of the film.
Agent Orange 03/19/2008 @ 2:53pm

Haha, this is what a Heroes / Gossip Girl cross over show would be like. Get it? Because its got the girl from Gossip Girl and that guy who could fly in Heroes in it… never mind…
Hoyt 03/21/2008 @ 1:53am

Some comments don’t match the movie. But keep going it’s funny.