Parents' Guide to Inside

This Australian prison drama is an intense but compelling look at the life of three incarcerated people caught in an interlocking relationship. Inside doesn't offer any easy answers or neat resolutions about how to rehabilitate violent criminals. What it does do, however, is give a talented cast a chance to shine a light on the darker thoughts of incarcerated people who have either abandoned hope or struggle to come to adjust after perpetrating violent acts. Cast as reviled rapist and murderer Mark, Jarvis brings both vulnerability and unpredictability to his role, recruiting Miller's Mel—recently transferred from a juvenile facility—to his upstart Pentecostal prison church. Their dynamic is complicated by the manipulative Warren, who Pearce manages to make volatile and oddly pathetic. The trio's brilliant performances power what might have descended into a one-note, depressing drama with a lesser cast. Credit also to writer-director Charles Williams' unfussy delivery. He lets his characters do the talking, giving us glimpses of each one's lives outside of prison that paints them all as tragic figures but never lets them off the hook. Viewers who can handle its heavy air and claustrophobic tone will be rewarded with one of the smartest and authentic prison dramas in years.