Stranger Inside

Rating:
Summary: Gritty, Realistic, Sometimes Hard to Watch
Review: How the film 'Slam' with Saul Williams took a look at the prison system with dramatic realism this film does the same, focusing on the experience from a female perspective.
Addresses a myriad of issues from prison as a modern day slavery system to survival and homosexuality.
One of the realest films I've seen in a long time. The star, Yolanda Ross is beautiful and strong and the underground hip hop artist Medusa is captivating.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: How the film 'Slam' with Saul Williams took a look at the prison system with dramatic realism this film does the same, focusing on the experience from a female perspective.
Addresses a myriad of issues from prison as a modern day slavery system to survival and homosexuality.
One of the realest films I've seen in a long time. The star, Yolanda Ross is beautiful and strong and the underground hip hop artist Medusa is captivating.

Rating:
Summary: REAL, WONDERFUL, GRIPPING AND NASTY!
Review: I LOVED THIS FILM!
THE MOVIE WAS RAW,AND IT LEFT YOU GUESSING, UNTIL THE END!
THE GIRLS GOT, DOWN RIGHT NASTY, BUT, I GUESS, THAT IS WHAT HAPPENS, IN THE PRISON, LIFE!

Rating:
Summary: Gritty, Realistic, Sometimes Hard to Watch
Review: What makes this movie a standout is that it all seems real. This is no backlot prison stage with sqeaky clean actors trying to play real grit. This is truly a down and dirty portrayal of women's prison life. But despite the often disturbing depiction of this (the unabashed violence; and one scene with a prison guard and a speculum), that's not really what this movie is about. It delves deeper into one young woman's dream/fantasy of recapturing the archetypal missing mother and chronicles her transformation from a girl who knows what she wants (to find her mother, Brownie, who is locked up in the federal pen) to a young woman whose self-discovery becomes her ultimate grief.

The movie is filled with outstanding performances (Rain Phoenix, for one is phenomenal), good pacing and production,and good storytelling. It falls short because I believe it does perpetuate some stereotypes many may have about women's prisons and at times, doesn't seem to be able to move beyond these familiar, formulaic images. I would have liked to have seen something I haven't seen in prison movies before.

The DVD has chapter selection capability and is presented in widescreen format. However, if you are looking for special features, this is about it. I would have liked to have seen a "behind the camera" featurette or a director's commentary on this disc. Cheryl Dunye is a talented, talented director and not to have heard directly from her about this movie is a shortcoming.

I recommend this movie very highly. It's not one you'll want to watch over and over so before you buy, consider renting it first. This movie is like a fine meal, it's good the first time around but you wouldn't want to eat this way every night.