The I Inside [HD]

A True Mind Twister That Requires Viewer Participation
THE I INSIDE is a very fine film that deserves a wide audience. It ranks up there with 'MEMENTO', 'THE SIXTH SENSE', and 'JACOB'S LADDER' as the sort of intelligent film that demands intensive participation on the part of the viewer to catch all of its nuances and possible plot variations.

Based on a play Michael Cooney who also wrote the screenplay and directed with considerable finesse by Roland Suso Richter, the story involves a bizarre mix of altered circumstances surrounding the hospitalization of Simon Cable (Ryan Phillippe in a performance that is the finest of his career and promises much more from this actor) whose circumstances for awakening under the care of one Dr Jeremy Newman (Stephen Rea) are nebulous. Dr Newman who slowly reveals to Simon that he is suffering from acute memory loss due to trauma and possible poisoning (he had undergone cardiac arrest and was resuscitated) and yet warmly reassures him he will soon return to normal. In essence Simon has...

decent story, but a little empty over all.
I can't imagine what it must've been like to see this as a play! It makes a pretty good hallucinatory film, but the dialogue is occasionally stilted. I'm not sure I would buy this, but recommend renting it for a look. I don't agree that it is better than The Butterfly Effect although there are certain similarities. I was impressed with Sarah Polley's performance, but found that Ryan Phillippe was better when he had really dramatic scenes to react off of rather than when he wasn't really in motion and just seemed bored or uncertain of his dialogue.

The first half of the film where you don't know who is really to be trusted, and what exactly is going on is quite well done though and that's why I give it 3 stars.

Also the ending is not a letdown, and the whole atmosphere is quite strong throughout. There's just those few dry moments where the acting or dialogue doesn't really seem believeable, and you know it's only there to support the direction of the story. That...

Simply put: A blatant cheat with zero payoff.
This movie has a strong sense of "Been there, done that before." No, I'm not talking about the characters, I'm talking about the audience. It's kind of funny, I was reviewing the C-grade horror movie "Soul Survivors" the other day, and, perusing the other reviews, everyone seemed to be in agreement that the movie had far too many cheats and poor explanations. In actuality, I think it's just easier to rip apart low-budget horror movies than movies with more ambition, like "The I Inside," because this movie has far more cheats and dead-ends never explained than "Soul Survivors." "The I Inside" also attempts to do far more than "Soul Survivors," with much loftier aims, so it fails in a more spectacular way.

"The I Inside" stars Ryan Phillippe, Sarah Polley, Piper Perabo, Robert Sean Leonard, and Stephen Rea. The casting is good, I think. First of all, I don't think Ryan Phillippe can play an out-and-out good guy. Even when he tries to cover it, he just comes off and looks like...

Click to Editorial Reviews