INSIDE
Filmmaker Charles Williams brings Tribeca 2025 audiences a nuanced story of empathy. On the cusp of parole after a long sentence, Warren gets assigned an incoming 17-year-old transfer named Mel. Mark, a self-proclaimed religious reformer and child murderer, becomes the target of Mel and Warren’s violent scheme. After the three men begin to communicate, everything changes.
It becomes clear early on that fear and unresolved trauma impede Mel’s release. He lashes out to prolong his release. Getting polar opposite advice from Mark and Warren, Mel enters a quiet tailspin of decision-making as the clock runs down.
INSIDE boasts some of the best individual performances of the festival. Cosmo Jarvis is one of those actors who possesses an unspoken power. Each role he chooses leaves an indelible impression on your soul. Playing Mel’s initial cellmate, Mark, Jarvis delivers a perfect physical and vocal affectation that mesmerizes the audience from beginning to end.
Guy Pearce is a legend. Warren’s goal is emotional redemption for past transgressions, but reality outside forces him to save the only soul he can on the inside. Pearce is a quiet storm. His masterful ability to speak volumes with nothing but a breath proves vital to Warren’s arc. He is an unconventional guardian angel. Vincent Miller captivates as our young leading man. He comes with an unusually mature sense of self, and his comfort in front of the screen and alongside other screen titans is beyond impressive.
Charles Williams‘s diligent research is evident in the casting choices, facilities, and programs inside the prison system. He delves into the surprising depth of morality and motivation. The script turns in ways you won’t expect. Williams explores the base instincts of survival and blows every expectation out of the water. The film is a meditation on cyclical trauma. It is messy, heartbreaking, and utterly engrossing. The complexity of INSIDE will shock you.
Spotlight Narrative
Feature | Australia | 103 MINUTES | English | English subtitles
PRISON DRAMA STARS ACADEMY AWARD-NOMINEE GUY PEARCE (The Brutalist), COSMO JARVIS (Shogun, Warfare) & NEWCOMER VINCENT MILLER
Quiver Distribution will release INSIDE in US theaters on June 20th, following the film’s North American premiere at the 2025 Tribeca Festival on June 7th, in the spotlight narrative section
Written and Directed by Charles Williams in his directorial debut, Inside is an Australian prison drama that tells the story of Mel Blight (Miller), who after being transferred from juvenile to adult prison, is taken under the wing of both Mark Shepard (Jarvis), Australia’s most despised criminal, and Warren Murfett (Pearce), a soon-to-be-paroled inmate. As a paternal triangle grows between them, we see that even the worst of men have a little bit of good inside that will be their undoing.
Driven by the need to explore what might have been, writer and director Charles Williams spent four years visiting and interviewing officers and inmates in Australian prisons. Many take part in this debut feature film and Williams was rigorous in every detail, down to taking the exact percentage of Indigenous people incarcerated in Victoria — 10.8% — and then having exactly 11% of the cast be Indigenous. There is neither judgment, nor forgiveness, for the characters — instead there is a curious compassion and clear-eyed view of the system these men are in and the world that shaped them.
Remaining Tribeca Screenings:
06/08/2025, 6:00 PM at AMC-04 – 2nd Screening
06/12/2025, 3:00 PM at VEC-04 – 3rd Screening
06/13/2025, 6:15 PM at VEC-06 – 4th Screening
The layers of complexity in this script are unfathomable. A small town brimming with secrets pushes Hamish past his already frazzled limits, physically and mentally. In an attempt to figure out why his late mother left her hometown years ago, Hamish finds himself wrapped up in the local drama. As he navigates through the town landscape, quite literally at times, he faces more personal uncertainty than he could have ever anticipated.
Under the structure of a crime thriller, this film is truly a redemption story. After seeing Cosmo Jarvis in the leading role, I can no longer imagine any other actor owning this role with such a tender precision. His physical presence has an ominous feel but at the core, he’s a gentle giant with emotional, and perhaps physical, PTSD. While The Devers family uses Douglas’ strength and stature to intimidate, their psychological abuse of him is pervasive and perhaps more effective than any threat of physical harm.
Now for the story’s most gripping aspect; a father/son connection, or lack thereof. Douglas’ son Jack is on the spectrum. As a mother of a young boy also on the spectrum, this story grabbed me immediately. The juxtaposition of him and Jack cannot be ignored. The script highlights trauma and the feeling of inferiority. It is grounded writing and extraordinarily acted. The Shadow of Violence is a perfect title. The tense action scenes keep the heart pumping. Seriously, nothing short of gripping sequences. The success of the film ultimately lies in family dynamics and letting go of guilt. You will undoubtedly be touched by this story. We all want better for our children than we had for ourselves.
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