‘Put some respect on my name!’ is the name of the game.
Inside the Rain starts with our main character, a college student named Benjamin Glass (Aaron Fisher). Glass is a student suffering from ADHD, OCD, Borderline personality and he is Bipolar. He wants to prove to everyone around him that he is smart (or smarter than what people give him credit for). When Glass goes to a party, he meets up with a girl and, after a nightly encounter, the police arrive at his door the next day and arrest him for something he didn’t commit. After his release from police custody, he is told by the college dean that, because of the schools 2 strike policy, they are going to kick him out of school. Glass comes up with a plan to win this misunderstanding case by making a film recreating the events of that night to prove his innocence.
However, he needs an actress to play the girl who wrongfully accused him and Glass hires local moonlight sex worker named Emma (Ellen Toland). Glass’ parents (Catherine Curtin and Paul Schulze) send their son to Doctor Holloway (Rosie Perez) on a consistent basis. Glass tells Holloway about his romantic interest in Emma and the movie he is filming to prove his innocence. Holloway feels that those decisions are not good for him and will only lead to him being hurt but Glass’s ambitious desire to prove himself causes him to ignore her advice. With some help from an anonymous donor, Glass now has the money to create his film and prove his innocence.
As a romantic comedy, Inside The Rain does have its moments but really the movie is more than just a funny rom-com. Throughout the film, we follow Glass as he preps and shoots his film to recreate the incident. In doing so, Glass shows us his life and his world through his eyes, as well as every prejudice that he has faced along the way. I believe this movie touches on topics that society does not want to talk about or just don’t have enough information about. As I watched Inside The Rain, the first thing that came to my mind what that this movie is really about is the cultural prejudice facing people who are living with bipolar disorder. Aaron Fisher who plays Glass does an amazing job of authentically portraying the many disorders that his character is afflicted by. The accuracy from when Glass is taking his meds and seeing his behaviour to when he is off the meds is a thing of beauty. Glass’ father (Paul Schluze) thinks he is crazy making a film and should accept defeat, and that, if word gets out that his son is making a film, he will in the mental ward. The manner in which his father deals with his son in these situations is how a lot of people in society mishandle people who suffer from disorders by looking at them as thought they are mentally ill, need help or are limited to what they can do. This is why, throughout the movie, Glass tells his peers to not tell his parents he is making the film.
Furthermore, the movie also touches on the prejudices faced by sex workers face as well. For example, when we first meet Emma, some patrons from the strip club are trying to force her for a hookup after work until Glass stands up and defends her from the group. Also, when Emma goes to meet Glass’s parents for dinner, Glass whispers to her to not tell his parents that she is a moonlight sex worker. The movie really puts us in the shoes of these two characters and makes you want to root for their relationship and the fight to prove everyone wrong.
Overall, Inside The Rain is a good movie that touches on the difficult topic of prejudice. Personally, I highly recommend this movie to movie lovers of unique Rom Coms. This would be a great movie for those who are interested in psychology and behaviour. As a psychology major myself, I really enjoyed Glass’s character development and seeing through the eyes of someone with bipolar disorder. With strong performances by a good cast and the topic this movie touches on, Inside the Rain proves to be very successful and worth a watch.
Inside the Rain is available on VOD now.
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