Helped through his twenty years in jail by his former teacher, one man sets out to win her heart as she did his.
The path to retribution can be a long and winding road where a medley of characters showing themselves for who they really are, and yet there could be that one person that was your rock, the spearhead for one’s rehabilitation. These building blocks structure Outside In, a man who was imprisoned for twenty years for a crime he did not commit and his former teacher who stuck by him for all those years and fought his corner every step of the way. An unbreakable bond has now been forged and it is due to turn the latter’s life upside down.
Lynn Shelton directs an adhering story about a lost soul, Chris (Jay Duplass) a man in his late thirties who after being released from prison is now living in his brother’s garage dealing with the aftermath of his decision to take the blame for a robbery and accidental death that happened in his youth. His saving grace throughout them years is his adoring former teacher Carol (Edie Falco) who made her passion to fight for his freedom.
I only got around to watching this film three years after its release and in writing this review, found out about the tragic death of Shelton who died in mid-2020. Shelton, who was predominantly known for her comedy dramas created on a shoestring budget also formed a great relationship with the Duplass brothers, both of whom have starred in films of hers, with Mark having a starring role in 2009s Humpday and 2011s acclaimed, Your Sisters Keeper.
Outside In begins by inviting us, and what seems like the entire neighbourhood to Chris’s surprise party upon his release from prison where he spent twenty years for murder. It is at this party where we first see the glimmer in his eye, the one that appears whenever his former teacher Carol appears, his rock that helped him through his torturous life of imprisonment. This party also introduces him to another blossoming relationship that he begins to forge with Carol’s daughter Hildy (Kaitlyn Dever), even if they are introduced through an unfortunate bathroom incident, obviously first impressions are not as important as we once thought.
After a later meeting with Chris, in which he presents Carol with a cute, albeit a tad terrible self portrait of her, it is clear to Carol that Chris has a deep crush on her and the married woman must now decide how to manoeuvre herself into a safe zone of just being friends with Chris as to not damage her marriage, a marriage we later find out to be borderline loveless and without joy. Something that becomes to known to us when Carol makes a rejected advance on her husband Tom (Charles Leggett), who now sleeps in another room. Can a woman be judged for wanting some passion in her life if it means a sacrilegious oath is to be broken.
To create some normality in their relationship, Carol invites Chris to have dinner with her family, something that goes swimmingly until Carols husband Tom arrives home, leading to a severely awkward encounter between the two men. What does blossom is the relationship between Chris and Hildy, after Chris applies for a job at the local store where she works. They begin to hang out like teenagers do, riding their bikes and going to hideouts together, the big problem being that Chris is no longer an adolescent and much closer to his forties. The tabooed nature of the – harmless – relationship is something that is hinted at, Tom himself saying “How do you feel about our daughter hanging around with a 40-year-old ex con?”. Chris seeing it as an innocent relationship, trying to cling on to his teenage years and all the growing up he lost, whereas Hildy finds herself possibly crushing on the man who secretly loves her mother.
Chris enters several conflicts throughout the film, his inability to find a job due to his criminal record, the fact that he cannot obtain a relationship with Carol, who has now started an attempt at helping another citizen gain parole, something that Chris feels as a slight betrayal. There is also his relationship with his younger brother Ted (Ben Schwartz) who Chris finds out remains friends with the man who was the real murderer in the crime he went inside for. This betrayal is magnified by the fact that Ted never went to see his brother in prison, something that Chris finds hard to deal with and leads to him ever so subtly distancing himself from his brother.
The penny drops with Chris and he now takes the drastic decision to take the plunge in his quest for love, why wait around for something that might never happen and not take the initiative? He offers Carol an ultimatum, join him for a night of love and laughs (there may or may not be bowling involved) where they can connect for the first time. Carol can then make the decision for herself, one that will change her life no matter what she chooses and getting caught would be the worst possible outcome for all parties involved.
Outside In is a character film, they are the stronghold that keeps the narrative intact. It offers strong performances from the two leads, particular Edie Falco who masters the art of middle-aged woman at a crossroads in her life, craving some excitement to move her away from the boring suburban lifestyle she has become imprisoned in. The score by Grammy nominated musician Andrew Bird is atmospheric, couple this with the simple yet beautiful cinematography – with its myriad of skilfully subtle cutaways – offers up a highly enjoyable and thought-provoking film that will have greatly aided Shelton’s blossoming career.
Available to watch on Netflix now.
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