These days it’s difficult for me to find time and motivation to dedicate to exploring new TV or movies, but every now and then an opportunity comes along. It was recently the case with a certain show I wanted to watch for over a year, and now having done so, I definitely regret not making that jump sooner.
The show in question is Mr Inbetween, an Australian crime/comedy drama focused around a hitman who tries his best to balance his life working in the underworld of Sydney and being a good father / boyfriend. The overall theme is centered around violence and asks questions such as: is it sometimes necessary, is it moral and what the hell are dimmies? A quick google search can reveal the answer to the latter, as for the other two… well there is a bit more depth to it than it might seem at first glance.
The main character is Ray Shoesmith – played by Scott Ryan who not only embodied the protagonist but also wrote the entire show, as it is his brainchild based on an earlier self-funded indie movie called The Magician (2005), is one of the most intriguing leads I’ve seen in a while due to mix of both loyalty to his boss and his loved ones, sprinkled with a moral backbone that at times makes him look more like a vigilante than a career criminal, but also undeniable willingness to commit murder for profit aswell as addiction to violence. He often works for a club owner and criminal boss Freddy who is an interesting take on such a character as he’s essentially the anti-Gus Fring – sleazy, not really effective or competent at being a top dog, and is at times shown fear of the main character. Then we have Brittany, Ray’s daughter whom he tries to protect and raise, his brother Bruce who suffers from neurone motor diesese and the actor who portrays him (Nicholas Cassim) does disturbingly good job at doing so. The last regular on the show is Gary who might be one of the favourite side-kick type characters of any TV Show – a friend to Ray, a gun runner and later porn director with affinity for… some really kinky stuff. This character alone has made me stuggle not to laugh out loud at 2AM while binge watching the show over the span of two weeks, but aside from his goofiness and funny interactions, he is also fiercly loyal and the kind of bloke you’d want to have in your corner – at times taking matters into his own hands and showing that he is fully capable of saving the day without much help.
The cinematography is pretty good too, tho I think that Mr Robot might still be my #1, Mr Inbetween certainly is at least up there with likes of Better Call Saul. We get to see a lot of angles of Australia – from regular cityscape, to bush, the outback and what not. One of my favourite parts of this show is simply the soundscape of wilderness outside of Sydney, though thankfully there aren’t too many monstrosities featured on the show (save from a single Huntsman Spider, ekhm)
What I found to be very interesting and unique about the structure of the story and overall pacing of this show, is that unlike most, there isn’t an overaching villain or even an extended plotline spanning over multiple seasons. Most antagonists that go up against our anti-hero end up leaving the screen in one way or another relatively quick – mostly due to Ray’s competence and effectiveness as a hit man and willingness to get things done quick. There is no 4 season long plot to reach the bad guy and then spare his life at the last given moment or other types of overdone Hollywood tropes – if someone needs to go, they usually end up sniffing dirt in a matter of an episode of two. Dialogue is incredibly realistic and raw, forgoing the more performance-oriented cinematic writing of majority of modern TV. The show itself is relatively short aswell, at least by modern standards. Sitting at 26 episodes spanning over 3 series, and with the episodes themselves being only 25-30 minutes long on average, it is very easy and quick to consume.
The length of the show is due to Scott Ryan’s eagerness to leave where it felt right for him, and despite being left wanting more (which is always better than wanting less), I do respect this choice to go out on a high note. And oh boy, what a note it is! I think the show does absolutely masterful job of relaying moral of the story in such short time – it is succulent, no-bullshit, and somehow manages to achieve just as much as other shows do in matter of 6-8 seasons. It is truly impressive how well distilled it is, and I’ll be studying this writing for years to come.
There are a lot of emotions this show will make you feel – mostly tense, suspensful, funny, but also at times hitting really hard right in the feels. I won’t spoil anything but there are at least three scenes that did leave me with a heavy heart and a tear in the corner of my eye. Much of it can be credited to Mr Ryan’s brilliant acting alongside rest of the cast, which is really difficult to even call acting at times. In many ways it is the most raw, realistic feeling show I’ve seen maybe ever.
This alongside the script, the cinematography, symbolism and music is what makes Mr Inbetween a true underappreciated gem which deserves to be on more people’s radars. Heck, I didn’t even knew about its existence until YouTube threw some clips my way, and don’t get me even started on availablity of the show itself – it might be the most elusive piece of media in a while. I know it might be not as much of an issue in the US/UK, but here in Eastern EU it is practically impossible to find a legit way to watch it – yes, I had to dust off my pirating skills to find some less-than-legal way of binging it because even trying to get around Disney+ with VPN wasn’t working and the physical releases include only Seasons 1 and 2. Despite that, it was well worth it and I can say without a shadow of a dobut that this show has instantly cemented itself in my Top 5 of all time. It’s a hard recommend to anyone who enjoyed likes of Breaking Bad, or to those who are looking for something short and tasty.