397. Michael Inside; movie review

MICHAEL INSIDE
Cert 15
96 mins
BBFC advice: Contains very strong language, strong violence

Be honest, when you read or hear about court cases or see begging or the homeless on our streets, how sympathetic are you to the subjects?
The vast majority of us would say that an individual is responsible for their own actions, wouldn't we?
My own opinions on subjects such as these were put under the microscope when I began volunteering with the YMCA.
My first task was to mentor a young man who had been in prison and was struggling to hold down regular work.
It was only when I heard his backstory of family trauma that I understood why he struggled to meet society's values.
There are clear parallels with the excellent Dafhyd Flynn's character Michael McCrea whose mother died when he was young and his father is now in jail.
He is at college and lives with his grandfather (Lalor Roddy) but falls in with the wrong crowd on a Dublin estate.
Thus, he has already been in trouble for minor crime when the police raid his home and discover drugs which he is holding as a favour to a friend.
Consequently, he finds himself facing a 'short, sharp shock' in prison which pushes his future into a very different direction than he was intending.
Michael Inside was guided by interviews with those who have served in jail and demonstrates how a life can spiral out of control.
It also shows how time in prison is anything but the picnic which we are sometimes led to believe it might be.
I have to be honest and admit that I would have seen Frank Berry's film in an entirely different light had it not been for my experience with the YMCA.
But now I can say that it is frighteningly believable and that few people are inherently bad but many are victims of circumstance or make poor decisions.

Reasons to watch: Thought-provoking and accurate
Reasons to avoid: If you believe criminals are always looking for someone else to blame

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: Yes
Nudity: Yes
Overall rating: 8/10

Director quote - Frank Berry: “A former prisoner once described to me that he felt the trajectory of his life changed by a degree on a particular period in his life and then every day that went past he went further away from the guy he could have been. He said to me it’s almost impossible to go back, once you’re off.”

The big question - Why do we judge the book by its cover?

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