Inside (dir. Charles Williams)

By: Adam Freed

As it turns out, the prison system in Australia isn’t so different from that of the United States.  Under the blanket of terms like “reform” and “rehabilitation” many of Australia’s juvenile offenders are given a lifetime scholarship into the world of career criminal status.  This status either guarantees them the likelihood of a lifetime stay within the correctional system or, in many cases, raises their probability of becoming a reoffender.  The cycle of penitentiary life is hard to break, and the more violent, the more drug addicted the offender is on the way in, the higher the likelihood that the system will never spit them out again.  This is certainly the case for Mel Blight, a juvenile offender aging out of the youth correctional system and being integrated in the general adult population in Australia’s federal corrections community. Blight is captured to perfection by relative newcomer Vincent Miller.  Miller, whose screen credits are limited, is certain to make a name for himself as the violent offender, who is wise beyond his years, but carries about as much remorse as the Grim Reaper himself.  Australian Director Charles Williams zeroes in on a wildly entertaining and desperately catastrophic system of corrosive humanity in his debut feature film Inside.

For the youthful Blight, finding allies in his new adult surroundings feels about as essential as breathing, a reality that leads him to interact with Warren Murfett, a former drug addict serving hard time for a phalanx of offenses committed in service of his addiction.  Academy Award Nominee Guy Pearce (The Brutalist, The Hurt Locker) gives Murfett the streetwise prison savvy that is attractive to the young Blight, but also provides Williams’ film with a much needed performance gravity.  Guy Pearce leaves no question as to his prowess as a performer in each and every one of the precarious positions his hardened character is forced to endure.  Quickly Mel Blight learns that being the fresh face on the prison yard opens him up to a wide range of predicaments, and befriending Warren Murfett, appears to be the salve that the young convict so desperately needs, or so it seems.

Although it lacks the cinematic flash of some more far fetched prison films, Inside feels far more akin to the harsh realities of a film like Greg Kwedar’s Sing Sing as its grittiness feels very much a reflection of the realities that those who’ve lost their freedom are forced to endure.  What Inside lacks in visual appeal, it makes up for with rich character portrayals and a rousing final act that is sure to leave audiences in disbelief.  While Inside isn’t likely to receive a broad American theatrical release, it is all but certain to put the names of young star Vincent Miller and director Charles Williams firmly at the tip of Hollywood’s powerful tongue.

Target Score 8.5/10 - While audiences have come to expect compelling and dynamic performances from Guy Pearce, it is the work of newcomer Vincent Miller in conjunction with Pearce that becomes the engine that makes Australian prison drama Inside a sight to behold. 

Inside is included in Movie Archer's coverage of the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival.