On the Inside (I) (2011) User Reviews

Prison and Romance... and Not One of Those Movies

[gavin6942 · 6/10 · 5 July 2012]

A decent but troubled young man (Nick Stahl) is sent to a psychiatric institution for the criminally insane and soon finds himself in a fight for his life battling ghosts inside his head and very real enemies all around him.

This film has received generally low ratings and reviews, and I find that unfortunate. I saw one review saying this film had no point. I will not even address that. I did find it extremely odd that an intelligent young man was put in a psychiatric ward when he is clearly a rational person. What he did was heinous, but completely understandable and not in any way due to mental illness. But, oh well.

That issue aside, the acting is great (without the need for "big names"), the story is fantastic (not your typical prison story), the directing is more than adequate. The actor who plays Ben really steals the show. I am sad to see that Olivia Wilde does little more than serve as the romantic interest. Her mental issues could be a good story of their own, but are more or less completely ignored.

Great film? Probably not. But better than average and worth seeing.

Pointless Message

[claudio_carvalho · 5/10 · 13 July 2013]

The disturbed Allen Meneric (Nick Stahl ) mistakenly kills an innocent believing that he had raped his girlfriend and is sent to the Northwood Secure Treatment Facility, a psychiatric institution for insane murderers. Allen meets the dangerous inmates Carl Tarses (Dash Mihok) and Ben Marshal (Pruitt Taylor Vince) but after a period, his mental condition is reassessed by Dr. Lofton (Shohreh Aghdashloo) and sent to the Northwood Department of Correction, a minimum security institution.

Allen meets the gorgeous bipolar inmate Mia Conlon (Olivia Wilde) and they fall in love with each other. On the day of her birthday, they have a private encounter as part of an experimental program; but they are interrupted by the violent Tarses, who is trying to escape from the institution with Ben.

"On the Inside" is an original prison movie, with deranged inmates locked in a psychiatric institution and a romance between inmates. Unfortunately the movie has a pointless message, with the stupid tragic conclusion.

Allen is a young man that is haunted by the ghost of his older brother and that shows no remorse for killing an innocent man. When he has a meeting with the father of his victim, he is cold and does not show remorse for what he did. However, in the end of the story after falling in love with the bipolar Mia, he finds redemption with his attitude towards Tarses. But the writer and director D.W. Brown destroys what could have been a good low-budget movie of love and redemption. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "A Instituição" ("The Institution")

Good but pointless

[MovieSonic · 6/10 · 22 November 2011]

Hmm...not sure about this one.

The film was very well written, it was engaging, the actors were impressive and there was genuine emotional involvement.

But after watching it, instead of thinking "what a good film", all I could think was "what was the point of that?" And I'm not even someone who thinks films have to have deep and meaningful things to say but even Transformers has a point (save the world etc.) There is literally no reason for this film unless I missed something. Is there a message about being good? about rehabilitation? loneliness? what?! I don't know and I don't think I can recommend people watch a film that is so pointless.

I would give the film a 5 for "overall" enjoyment and at least 7 for the overall great execution of the film so I will rate it a 6.

Watch it if you are a fan of any of the actors because you won't be bored but don't be surprised when you feel strangely disappointed after watching.

Excellent acting

[mrc303 · 11 November 2011]

Watch this one for the acting. We get to see some pretty mainstream actors playing crazy, and it is gripping to watch. Olivia Wilde gave a phenomenal performance. I enjoyed her in this more than anything else I have seen her in. Olivia really went to a vulnerable and broken place to play this role. The story was simple, but this movie wasn't really story driven. In contrast, the characters were deep, and the actor's performances carried this movie.

We don't really see the characters grow, or change, except for some subtle realizations at the end. What we do get is a slowly deepening glimpse into the minds of some some very confused people and the deeper we go, the more human they become to us. This movie is really trying to tell us that among the most damaged people in our society, while many are beyond redemption, others are just trying to find happiness, and to figure out what that is for them and if it is even possible given their flawed natures.

Meanders a bit

[SnoopyStyle · 5/10 · 30 August 2013]

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.

IT IS NICE TALKING TO ME

[nogodnomasters · 6/10 · 19 July 2018]

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.

Wow, No point to this crappy movie

[TheBlack100 · 1/10 · 10 January 2013]

There was no point to this movie. There were bad guys(and girls) and worse bad guys. They were all killers and I think we were supposed to feel bad?? because they are living it up in a comfy mental institution?? The "good guys" are Allen and his new mental gf Mia. He killed 2 people that we know of and caused the death of his friends mom. (he was only convicted of one) And the girlfriend set fire to a building killing a couple of "old people." Possibly if these characters showed any type of remorse it might have made a difference but I doubt it.

The only reason we see any humanity in them is because of how bad the other criminals are.

Its a waste of time, no point, no character development, stupid soundtrack, and its dark. I don't know what we're supposed to take away from this movie. The only thing I can say is that is well acted for what it is but I can not recommend it.

Horrible.

[dance-jodie_2010 · 1/10 · 21 October 2012]

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

What goes on "On the Inside"

[Thrill_KillZ · 8/10 · 9 November 2011]

Well after viewing this only a few minutes ago I'll try to give an outline without being emotionally invested. Great acting from Olivia Wilde and Nick Stahl. The soundtrack was good and the pace was even, as it built the frame around Stahl's character,as to what he actually did or did not do to get him locked in the mental facility. Upon introduction into to Dash Mihok's character Carl, there is an immediate tenseness brought in as they let his evil be well apparent. Of course since O.Wilde is housed in the same facility we can guess there will be some sort of relationship between her and Stahl. Although it wasn't a film with big "thrills" or serious action it did very good keeping my attention, I rarely get emotionally involved but found myself caught up and full of anger at points that I won't mention, I would recommend to anyone, especially those who are looking for some real raw emotion out of a film.

Also I need to mention the great job of Pruitt Taylor Vince as he was great as supporting cast. It's freaky how he makes his eyes go back and forth so quickly, I just about blinded myself trying to do it *>)

I Don't Get Why This is Only a 5

[viridel · 8/10 · 11 March 2012]

Is it an epic masterpiece? No. Is it well and appropriately written? Yes. Is it well acted? Absolutely.

OK, some of the back-story is left a little lacking in flashbacks that are extremely short and for the most part lacking in development. But the present is well thought out, follows a natural character progression, and there aren't any unnecessary character trait flips to create artificial drama. The ending is appropriate for the progression of the story. Even the audio is perfectly developed.

Basically, this hits the mark on every mark except special effects (which would feel completely tacked on and unnecessary anyway). I don't get why there are so many poor reviews for something very solid!

Some of the greatest most superb acting I've ever seen!!!

[nitzanhavoc · 9/10 · 6 March 2013]

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!

excellent hands down

[shalimar-4 · 19 July 2012]

mrc303 nailed it..

Olivia Wilde's amazing performance.. along with Nick and the rest.

The acting was superb.. writing OK.. and overall very well done.

Simple fact is the actor(s) did as was needed and then some.

A sadly under rated winner IMHO.

How on earth this is only a 4.9 is astounding. Maybe the "Napoleon" fans need to learn what real acting is.

Oh and Min lines etc rules... phooey (review editor can remove this line but pls let the superiors know that it's not an effective rule to prevent spam. etc etc)

Nice Basic Direction of the film

[marksuatrom · 10/10 · 16 October 2013]

The main character (played by Nick Stahl) resembles actor Alexander Siddig

as a bud at all , his son , a strong resemblance , both in blood.

And if you look closely , they are very similar, in terms of genetics. Given this scenario and direction , the film turned out good .

But rather specific , the basic idea of ​​the film is very recessed in behavioral traits , while retaining the plot,

I mean, the plot is not smearing , but a little boring .

Watch is not for everyone, and At least those who can digest the mainstream movie - how to look inside the life of a psychopath (s)

that at least some sideways , but still remains a man . The basic direction - with the main character, from his experiences as a child (which is gradually revealed in the story )

And then - the result , further experience and the final act.