Outside In

A quiet piece of theatre that explodes into diverse emotions. It doesn't delve much into why Chris was imprisoned for 20 years but into how he copes with being free in a world that has passed him by. (He is amazed at what smartphones can do but he doesn't know whether he can send or receive SMS on his phone!)

Understandably, he has strong feelings for Carol, his only friend for 20 years, who helped him to become a free man. This causes problems for her, her family and himself.

Edie Falco's performance is powerful in a quiet, understated sort of way. The conflict that she has to deal with is palpable. Jay Duplass delivers magnificently on his role as a recently released prisoner with ambivalent but strong emotions. Add to these, Kaitlyn Denver's and Ben Schwartz's portrayal, and you have a powerful movie in the making.

The music is haunting: the ukelele and organ background music soars.

This movie is all about dealing with relationships, mending them, asking for forgiveness. Human drama at its best.

Really beautifully written story and great acting. How it feels to come back to the world after a twenty year incarceration. Feeling deep feelings of love for the only person that fought for release from prison, in spite of a huge age difference and also complicated by her marital status.

This movie certainly kept my interest and I rooted for the two main characters, who portrayed a palpable sadness. I wanted them to find happiness, and toward the end of the film, I believe they did. Just not nicely wrapped up with a bow, as life is not usually like that. So I appreciated the ending also.

Great supporting cast as well.

Don't listen to the negative reviews. The subplots were also interesting and important. If you like films that steer away from action, sci-fi, and romance, and would like to see a film about the intricacies and complications of everyday life, this is a must see.

There's a strange quality to Outside In that made me feel like I was watching a movie I've seen before. There's a particular style to indie character dramas like this one that can start to feel familiar and unoriginal. I can't point to a specific movie I've seen about a man who gets released from prison and wants to date an older woman who helped him get out, but I always felt like I was 3 steps ahead of the story in this movie. They telegraph things early, and don't really deviate from the expected narrative. Honestly, I was much more intrigued by the relationship between the main character and the young girl, because that had more nuance to it. I liked the idea of a guy who was incarcerated at a young age finding that he relates more to young people when he gets out. There are some awkward moments that I didn't enjoy, but otherwise the story was just fine. The acting was decent, and the characters were somewhat compelling. It's one of the most average movies I can remember watching in recent memory. I wasn't bored by it, but I also wasn't enthralled by it. I wanted to see how the story would end, but I also don't know if I'll remember how it ended within a few months. It's the kind of movie that will fade from my memory and get mixed in with the large number of other bland character dramas I've seen throughout my life. Outside In even has a forgettable title.

Although Lynn Shelton's slice of small town Pacific Northwest life (pay attention Everett and Granite Falls) in Outside In is so authentic as to defy artful interpretations, it is a minimalist portrait of ambitions circumscribed and affections compromised. In other words, it elevates working class melodrama into art house heavy while retaining the hint of desperate housewives of any small town.

Almost 40-year old Chris (Jay Duplass) has been released from prison after 20 years with the aid of his do-gooder former teacher, Carol (Edie Falco). Arriving in Granite Falls, Washington State, he is faced with hitherto unsuspected expectations from the two leading ladies: Carol and her daughter Hildy (Kaitlyn Dever). A brief brush with another lady reminds us that a handsome bachelor, recently released from prison for being innocent, is fair game for romantically inclined small-town women.

Shelton's approach is to let the realism dominate without veering too sharply into contrived, ironic situations. Chris's adjustment into civilian life will be fraught with suspicion and jealousy, just as in the real world his siblings and friends have always lived.

Falco and Duplass are so believably good as two adults who need to start life over that you miss the clichés and unsurprising turns because the leads become family whose fates matter very much to us.

Outside In is not kitchen-sink drama; it is simply simple life warm, troubled, and endearing. And that acting . . . .

"There are aspects of small town life that I really like - the routine nature of it, the idea of people knowing you and your likes and dislikes." Cress Williams

This movie may not fit into releasing to major theaters. However, it is a touching one. I like the unassuming kindness and unorthodox story telling.

Human beings are fragile in our own natures. There are moments when circumstances are beyond our controls and our morals and virtues are put into tested. Making right choices becomes challenging to our souls and bodies. We have to turn to the higher power for guidances. Doing right things seldom presents conveniences. It often requires courage. But if we don't consistently challenge our souls, our lives as we know might be heading into extinction.

We have nature to be selfish and unsympathetic. This movie showed how the opposite side could be. It is a great treat for our souls.