''Outside In'' is a 2017 American

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

film, directed by

Lynn Shelton Lynn Shelton (August 27, 1965 – May 16, 2020) was an American filmmaker, known for writing, directing, and producing such films as ''Humpday'' and ''Your Sister's Sister''. She was associated with the mumblecore genre. Early life Shelton was b ...

, from a screenplay by Shelton and

Jay Duplass Lawrence Jay Duplass (born March 7, 1973) is an American filmmaker, actor and author widely known for his films '' The Puffy Chair'' (2005), ''Cyrus'' (2010), and ''Jeff, Who Lives at Home'' (2011), made in collaboration with his younger brother, ...

. It stars

Edie Falco Edith Falco (born July 5, 1963) is an American actress. She is best known for portraying Carmela Soprano on the HBO series ''The Sopranos'' (1999–2007), and Nurse Jackie Peyton on the Showtime series ''Nurse Jackie'' (2009–2015). She also ...

Kaitlyn Dever Kaitlyn Rochelle Dever (; born December 21, 1996) is an American actress. She gained recognition for her roles in the FX crime drama television series '' Justified'' (2011–2015), the ABC/ Fox sitcom '' Last Man Standing'' (2011–2021), the N ...

, and

Ben Schwartz Benjamin Schwartz (born September 15, 1981) is an American actor and comedian. He has guest starred as Jean-Ralphio Saperstein on the NBC sitcom '' Parks and Recreation'' and Clyde Oberholt on the Showtime series '' House of Lies''; voiced Rand ...

. The film had its world premiere at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a perman ...

on September 8, 2017. It was released on March 30, 2018, by The Orchard, to positive critical response. At the 2018 Filmfest DC, the international

SIGNIS SIGNIS (official name: World Catholic Association for Communication) is a Roman Catholic lay ecclesial movement for professionals in the communication media, including press, radio, television, cinema, video, media education, internet, and new ...

jury honored the film with the SIGNIS Prize.

Plot

Chris is released from prison at the age of 38, after serving 20 years for murder. At a surprise party to celebrate, he reunites with Carol, his former high school teacher, who was his confidant during his prison stay and who had successfully fought for his release. They later meet up, and Chris abruptly hugs her and gives her a portrait he made of her. Carol suspects he has a crush on her though her own feelings for him are complicated as she is married with a teen daughter. After Carol urges him to try to meet and socialize with other women, Chris bikes over to her home and kisses her, confessing that he is in love with her. Despite her deep emotional connection to him, she insists they should try to be friends. Returning home, she goes to her husband Tom, who no longer sleeps in their bedroom, and tries to initiate sex, but he rejects her. Chris goes over for breakfast at Carol's, and he, she and her daughter Hildy get along well, though the mood is spoiled by the arrival of Tom. Chris is frustrated by her limited time for him and that she is considering helping another convict get parole. In addition, Chris's brother has remained friends with the man who committed the crime that he was convicted of. Chris also has difficulties finding a job. Hildy becomes interested in Chris and befriends him. She is surprised to learn he holds her mother in such high esteem and that he credits her with helping him get through prison. Chris asks Carol to spend one day with him where the two of them can be themselves. They go out to dinner and an arcade before going to a motel. They consummate their relationship and confess their love for one another. The following morning, leaving the motel, they are seen by Tom and Hildy. Tom attacks Chris, who kicks him in the shins before fleeing. Hildy disappears and is later found by Carol with Chris's help. Carol apologizes to her for not paying enough attention to her and prioritizing Chris. She says what happened between her and him was a one-time occurrence. Tom moves out of the family home, Chris gets a job, and Hildy breaks into Chris and his brother's home, where she leaves an art sculpture which he recognizes as a sign of forgiveness. Carol goes to visit Chris and tells him that their goals seem incompatible as he wants a simple life and she now craves a more fulfilling one. Nevertheless she asks him out for lunch, hoping they will get to know each other as they are in the present, to which Chris agrees.

Cast

as Carol Beasley *

as Chris Connelly *

as Hildy Beasley *

as Ted * Pamela Reed as Aunt Bette *

Alycia Delmore Alycia Delmore (born 1977) is an American actress in films and theater. Early life and education Delmore was born in Seattle, Washington. She attended Roosevelt High School and studied at Western Washington University. Career She is most fa ...

as Tara *

Matt Malloy Matt Malloy (born January 12, 1963) is an American actor and producer who has appeared extensively on television, film, and radio. Malloy's break-out performance was his co-starring role alongside Aaron Eckhart and Stacy Edwards in the 1997 bla ...

as Russell *

Louis Hobson Louis Hobson is a musical theater actor and was the artistic director of Balagan Theatre in Seattle, Washington. His Broadway credits include ''Next to Normal'' and ''Bonnie & Clyde''. Education and personal life Hobson grew up in Puyallup, Washi ...

as Matt * Aaron Blakely as Shane * Stephen Grenley as Phil * Charles Leggett as Tom Beasley

Production

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as ...

began in October 2016, over 20 days in

Snohomish County, Washington Snohomish County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. With a population of 827,957 as of the 2020 census, it is the third-most populous county in Washington, after nearby King and Pierce counties, and the 75th-most populou ...

Release

The film had its world premiere at the

on September 8, 2017. The Orchard acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film, with

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

set to release the film shortly after. It also screened at

South by Southwest South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, ...

on March 10, 2018. It was released in a

limited release __FORCETOC__ Limited theatrical release is a film distribution strategy of releasing a new film in a few theaters across a country, typically art house theaters in major metropolitan markets. Since 1994, a limited theatrical release in the Unit ...

on March 30, 2018, before being released through

video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of ...

on April 3, 2018.

Critical reception

''Outside In'' received positive reviews from film critics. On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

, it has a 96% approval rating based on 49 reviews, with an average rating of 7.3/10. On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, the film holds a rating of 76 out of 100, based on reviews from 18 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Dennis Harvey of

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

wrote: "Outside In feels eventful, even somewhat suspenseful, as we worry that being around so many screwups of one sort or another might endanger Chris’ still-fragile freedom."

References

External links

*
Official screenplay
{{Lynn Shelton 2017 films American drama films American independent films Duplass Brothers Productions films The Orchard (company) films Films about scandalous teacher–student relationships Films directed by Lynn Shelton Films shot in Washington (state) 2010s English-language films 2010s American films