Edie Falco

OUTSIDE IN: she finds herself finally ready

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Edie Falco in OUTSIDE IN

The fine director Lynn Shelton has died at age 54. Shelton’s drama Outside In begins when a man (Jay Duplass of Transparent) returns to his small town community after 20 years in prison.  Having been incarcerated since he was a teenager, he’s a bit emotionally stunted; he was a good kid who is now trying to be a good man.  He tries to negotiate his way among his not-so-supportive family, some former friends who share a secret and suspicious townspeople.

He’s free only because of a persistent campaign for justice by one of his high school teachers (Edie Falco).  The case has been an obsession for the teacher, much to annoyance of her blue-collar husband.  Now that the campaign has ended, the teacher must fill that vacuum with another passion.

There isn’t much passion in her marriage.  Shelton brilliantly depicts a husband who has expectations of their relationship and their future – he just doesn’t communicate them to his wife, or check to see if those expectations are shared.  He’s not a terrible person, and the relationship isn’t abusive – it’s just lapsed into staleness.

The freed convict and the teacher are comforted by each other.  There are several ways that this story could go, several of them trite.  Let’s just say that Shelton takes us in some unpredictable directions, while maintaining  authenticity.

Outside In is a story of self-discovery.  The teacher must assess what will make her happy and make some hard choices.  In a tour de force, Falco takes us through her confusion, dissatisfaction, longing, passion and, finally, determination.

Kaitlin Dever (Justified) is also excellent as the teacher’s teen daughter.  Outside In is an acting showcase for Falco, Duplass and Dever. Falco’s performance, however, is stunning.

I saw Outside In before its release at Silicon Valley’s Cinema Club.  It can be streamed on Netflix, Amazon, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.

Stream of the Week: OUTSIDE IN: she finds herself finally ready

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Edie Falco in OUTSIDE IN

The fine Lynn Shelton drama Outside In begins when a man (Jay Duplass of Transparent) returns to his small town community after 20 years in prison.  Having been incarcerated since he was a teenager, he’s a bit emotionally stunted; he was a good kid who is now trying to be a good man.  He tries to negotiate his way among his not-so-supportive family, some former friends who share a secret and suspicious townspeople.

He’s free only because of a persistent campaign for justice by one of his high school teachers (Edie Falco).  The case has been an obsession for the teacher, much to annoyance of her blue-collar husband.  Now that the campaign has ended, the teacher must fill that vacuum with another passion.

There isn’t much passion in her marriage.  Shelton brilliantly depicts a husband who has expectations of their relationship and their future – he just doesn’t communicate them to his wife, or check to see if those expectations are shared.  He’s not a terrible person, and the relationship isn’t abusive – it’s just lapsed into staleness.

The freed convict and the teacher are comforted by each other.  There are several ways that this story could go, several of them trite.  Let’s just say that Shelton takes us in some unpredictable directions, while maintaining  authenticity.

Outside In is a story of self-discovery.  The teacher must assess what will make her happy and make some hard choices.  In a tour de force, Falco takes us through her confusion, dissatisfaction, longing, passion and, finally, determination.

Kaitlin Dever (Justified) is also excellent as the teacher’s teen daughter.  Outside In is an acting showcase for Falco, Duplass and Dever. Falco’s performance, however, is stunning.

I saw Outside In before its release at Silicon Valley’s Cinema Club.  It can be streamed on Netflix, Amazon, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.

Blogging from Cinequest: 3 Backyards

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This unbearably pretentious and self-indulgent wannabe art film is constructed around three completely unconnected plot threads.  In the best written and acted of the three, Edie Falco plays a woman excited about driving her new celebrity neighbor (Embeth Davidtz) to the ferry.  The celebrity is having a personal crisis and deigns not to share her innermost turmoil with the new acquaintance.  Because Falco’s character had fantasized about gaining a celebrity BFF, she is disappointed.   Unless petty disappointment counts as a major theme, this segment is pointless.

In the second thread, Elias Koteas plays a man unhappy at home whose business trip is aborted.  He wanders around waiting for the unexplained catharsis at the 87-minute mark of the movie.  Koteas proves once more that he can furrow his brow and mumble at the same time.

The third thread is about a little girl who plays with her mother’s precious new bracelet and loses it.  By this time, we almost expect the random appearances of a mystical unicorn, but we have to make do with a white poodle instead.  Plus there’s a masturbating dog killer.  In between the three plot threads, there are odd transitional shots of caterpillars and the like.

Somehow 3 Backyards won Eric Mendelsohn his second Directing Award at the Sundance Film Festival.  I like to think that good directors tell stories and make them compelling, so I am baffled by this “achievement”.   I hated this movie – and it is still pissing me off.