On the Inside (2011)

Art professor Allen Meneric (Nick Stahl) is being evaluated at a mental institution for criminals. He brutally murdered a man who he thought raped his girlfriend, with the irony of it being the wrong man. While in prison he has flashbacks to his childhood to let us know he has other issues as his mom's number two son.In prison Allen meets Ben Marshall played by a Toj Johnson looking Pruitt Taylor Vince. He has a wonderful character, whose crime we don't find out until the end. He provides the production with some good dry humor during the early slow character build up. Lines such as: "I have friends, Bob and Isaac. I can't really count Isaac because only Bob can see him."Eventually Allen gets moved to minimum security where he meets the bipolar Mia (Olivia Wilde) whose character subplot was weak. The film eventually transforms from a smart psychological drama to an action film that doesn't quite make it. Good acting. Sharp dialog. But the ending didn't bring it home.PARENTAL GUIDE: F-bomb, sex, no nudity.This is another film shot in Pittsburgh which due to its financial incentives, infrastructure, and skilled locals is becoming the "Hollywood" of the east.

Allen Meneric (Nick Stahl) is committed to a psychiatric institution after killing the wrong man for raping his girlfriend. There he deal with violent patients (Dash Mihok and Pruitt Taylor Vince). Once he is allowed into the minimum security section, he meets a beautiful bipolar female inmate Mia (Olivia Wilde). The institution is loose with security, and Dr. Lofton (Shohreh Aghdashloo) in charge refuses to address. Inevitably things go wrong.The story meanders quite a bit. It takes a few detours into the killing, his past while we wait for the action to start. The pace is rather slow and the action doesn't start till the end. Nick Stahl doesn't have enough emotional drama. If this was a character study, they needed to get him to overcome emotional hurdles.

Usually, I only review Horror films. However, in this case, I gladly make an exception. The first review I've seen for this film has been titled "I Don't Get Why This is Only a 5", which has really made me happy. Finally I'm not the only one to notice how painfully unfair some of the reviews and ratings are on this site.On The Inside tells the story of a man locked up in an asylum for the criminally insane. The story and screenplay are interesting, compelling and realistic, giving the audience just the right amount of "suspension of disbelief". The build up in regards to some of the characters could have been slightly more elaborate, and the film altogether could have been longer, but considering the final product - Director/Writer D.W. Brown has done a great job.The absolute best part in my opinion is the acting. Nick Stahl, whom I've only seen in Terminator 3, has been given a much greater challenge, to which he stood up beautifully. However, with all due respect, the supporting cast have been the ones to truly leave an impression on me. House MD's own Olivia Wilde, as beautiful as always, has really done a great job playing the role of Bi-Polar patient Mia, and Dash Mihok has done just as well in the role of murdering sociopath Carl Tarses. However, the Oscar obviously and most definitely goes to Pruitt Taylor Vince. The way he played the role of Ben Marshal has been no less than an inspiration. I honestly felt like standing up and applauding, and if I were to ever meet him - I'd sure like to shake his hand. Perhaps most of the audience, who have never seen the inside of an asylum before nor met the inhabitants, couldn't have really appreciated the fine delicate nuances of the superb acting and how realistically the cast have portrayed the characters, but it was truly amazing.Perhaps the film could have used a more prominent twist in the plot, and altogether a longer story. However, all in all, not since Jack Nicklseon in "The Cuckoo's Nest" have we been blessed with such a fine work of art showing the lives of the criminally insane. I've been deeply impressed by "On The Inside", and would highly recommend it to anyone and everyone, if only for the superb acting!

This movie was so awful i wish i didn't even have to give it a star. thank god i only waisted a dollar 25 or whatever and an hour or so of my life on this god awful movie. Don't see this!! it had noooo story line whatsoever. it never went anywhere. horrible, seriously. the distcription of it when you go to rent it from red box it seems like its gonna be another shutter island kinda scary but the whole description was miss leading and i couldn't be more disappointed. i can't believe I'm waisting my time on this thing!! that is all. and i never write reviews unless they are this bad. thanks for reading..hope you take my advice! xox