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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.
