Inside the Rain Blu-ray Review

Bipolar Romance

Filmmaker Aaron Fisher crafts an unassuming, lively indie flick about mental health in the quirky Inside The Rain. Pulling triple duties as writer, director, and star, Fisher portrays a college student dealing with bipolar disorder and other mental issues. The ensemble cast around Fisher boasts Ellen Toland, Eric Roberts, and Rosie Perez.

The wry comedy-drama is nominally about the melodrama stemming from the student’s pursuit of a woman he meets at a strip club. Marketing suggests Inside The Rain is a light-hearted rom-com but that’s not a completely accurate description. A little romance certainly plays a part. What the movie deals with better are the student’s daily struggles and the stress it places on everyone around him. Rosie Perez plays a sassy therapist helping him.

Film student Benjamin Glass (Aaron Fisher) faces expulsion over a misunderstanding at school. Glass suffers from bipolar disorder, heavily medicating himself for daily living. Having already survived one suicide attempt after a failed one-night stand, the school thinks Glass makes a second attempt on his life. Facing expulsion before the school board, Glass gets the bright idea he’ll make a short film explaining what happened. Ignoring concerns from friends and family, Glass forges ahead with his bizarre defense.

Filmmaker Aaron Fisher crafts an unassuming, lively indie flick about mental health in the quirky Inside The Rain

Drowning his sorrows at a strip club, Benjamin Glass encounters a friendly girl who does a little bit of everything to make a living, from modeling to escort work on the side. Emma (Ellen Toland) and Benjamin soon hit it off after the film student begs her to star in his short film. Glass hits up a sleazy film producer (Eric Roberts in a small role) for advice on making his film.

Semi-autobiographical in nature, Fisher explores the ups and downs of living with bipolar disorder. It’s an introspective, occasionally funny piece that bares his emotional struggles and the stress it causes everyone around him. What makes Inside The Rain different and unique is Fisher’s sheer honesty from a male perspective. That may be why it doesn’t feel like a traditional rom-com with all the trappings.

Inside The Rain has a few serious weaknesses despite the likable cast and mostly funny story. Emma is a thinly-developed character, practically a fantasy girlfriend. There’s no genuine reason given why the beautiful model would fall for Glass and all his problems. The ending is also vaguely unsatisfying with few answers, skipping over major issues in the plot.

The quirky comedy-drama has an interesting perspective on mental health issues that are all too often glossed over by mainstream entertainment. The well-acted indie film could use more polish but that doesn’t take away from Fisher’s endearing portrayal of mental health issues.

Video

Aside from noticeable banding in the AVC encode, Inside The Rain receives a solid Hi-Def presentation at 1080P resolution that faithfully captures the film. FilmRise and MVD put the 90-minute main feature on a BD-25. The 2.39:1 video has capable definition and decent enough detail. There are no notable issues in the transfer. The 2018 indie production’s cinematography is crisp with fine clarity.

Inside The Rain on Blu-ray isn’t dripping with videophile-quality scenery but certainly provides competent picture quality. The steady contrast and perfect flesh-tones help the neutral color palette. This is not source material that screams it needs a 4K release.

Audio

The dialogue-driven comedy has modest surround engagement and spruces up the fairly pedestrian audio design. Inside The Rain’s 5.1 DTS-HD MA audio offers clean fidelity and solid dynamic range. The indie delivers clear, intelligible dialogue. Occasional musical interludes open up the front soundstage. This is serviceable surround audio without any real wow moments.

Optional English SDH subtitles play in a white font, often outside the scope presentation. Secondary 2.0 DTS-HD MA audio in stereo is included.

Extras

Technically FilmRise and distributor MVD call this disc a special edition, but that is merely a way to differentiate this pressed release from an earlier BD-R edition released earlier in the year. It’s how FilmRise handles most of their indie releases.

Inside The Rain Trailer (02:16 in HD)

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