Radio Inside

This gentle, even sweet, film is quite unusual in presenting in a non-mocking manner a person, Matthew (William McNamara), with real, heartfelt religious beliefs. Matthew does have a rather quirky relationship with Jesus, however! Basically, this is a three-character story with the actors (Dylan Walsh, Elisabeth Shue and McNamara) all giving fine performances. I also liked the cinematography, with its nice use of Miami Beach locales.

There is nothing very special about this movie, it is light romantic entertainment. The characters are interesting enough and the plot moves along at a leisurely pace. This movie doesn't expect too much from its viewers and you shouldn't expect too much from it. The actors are pleasant and solid.

With "Stealing Home," this is William McNamara's best work. He subtly and effectively delivers the conflict and angst of Matthew Anderson, who has recently moved to Florida and taken a job as a Life Guard after the drowning death of his father. Cinematography and supporting cast (pre-'Vegas' Elisabeth Shue) are excellent as well. The story never strays from Matthew's dilemma, complicated by a sudden crush on his brother's girlfriend. If only we all had a direct phone line to Jesus.

It's hard to put my finger on exactly what I liked about this movie. The three lead actors, especially McNamara and Shue are certainly a big part of it. The interesting locations (Miami Beach). On-screen exploration of a person's rather eccentric religious beliefs in a very creative way. Some very creative daydream/mood-setting scenes. I really connected with certain elements of the plot: a person's feelings of loss/guilt over the death of a family member, the big-brother/little-brother relationship, along with a few more standard movie plot elements like "love triangle", etc. Overall, the movie has a sort of slow, dreamy quality. Not a good movie to watch if you're in the mood for action, car chases, gunfights, etc. Overall, not a whole lot happens in the movie. It is largely a character study and is tightly tied to McNamara's character's perspective. I am generally conservative with my ratings, but I rated this movie very highly. I have seen it several times and i find myself thinking about it a lot, even though it has been quite a long time since the last time I saw it. Not having heard anything about it or seen a preview, this is one of a very, very rare category of movies for me that i selected off the rack at the video store (probably when they were out of the other five movies i wanted to get) and ended up being blown away. Now I feel lucky for having found it. I only wish it would come out on DVD (as of 6/01, it is only available on VHS).

Being a huge fan of Elisabeth Shue, i can't miss a movie with her in it. But nothing is happening here. Plenty of blah blah blah, slow pace and dull flashbacks. For fans only, fans of Elisabeth Shue... Five stars because it's not a low budget and for her beauty at this time, mid-90's.