Charles is stuck, and he knows it. He wants to stay inside his comfort zone, which is his pleasant Brooklyn apartment, and avoid contact with the world outside as much as possible. He steps outside, however, inadvertently leaving his keys inside, and what happens on his day in the sunlight is what this movie is about. A simple story, told without passion or bombast--but played with infinite commitment and joy by an ensemble led by actor Brian Tyree Henry, a brilliant and charismatic performer we shall (or at least should) see much more of in coming years. Slow to take off, the film soars by its ultimate conclusion. A little gem.
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maryloislotus17 March 2022
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Advocate14 June 2022This was a good movie. Interesting storylines. Sometimes the people you meet aren't by accident.
Brian Tyree Henry Is a great actor and this movie is another example of his versatility. -
imseeg23 May 2021Bland and NOT really funny at all. More of a tv movie than a real movie.
The story: a man locks himself out of his apartment and he meets his neighbours while trying to get back in. Did sound funny and promising, but the dialogues and the characters and the direction are so bland.
The bad: bland, nothing really funny.
Not any good? Well, it is perfect wallpaper television. You wont get irritated by it, only bored... -
digdog-785-71753819 February 2024I generally prefer films with complex plots, and i also generally recoil at the very concept of a comedy-drama. But The Outside Story is both these things, but also very good.
Charles is boring, lame Newyorker. He is content with sitting at home doing nothing, he has a stuffy job that he takes way too seriously and it bums him out, and he is generally not fun to be around. Charles' girlfriend Isha has unfortunately come to the same conclusion, and at the very start of the film, she has left him. To make things worse, in a moment of absentmindedness, Charles also locks himself out of his Brooklyn apartment.
No keys, a dying phone battery, no money, no shoes, in order to survive the day, without starving, getting arrested or soiling himself, Charles has to urgently learn how to Deal With People.
.. everything about this film is done the way *I* expect a film to be done; well written, superbly acted, interesting characters that spring out of the setting rather than sticking out, good pacing, good photography, good soundtrack, spotless dialogue, and TOS works both as a comedy, but also as a drama.
I would happily recommend this film. The plot is simple, but do not let that deceive you - there is plenty of enjoyment to be had here.
My vote: 7.5/10 - a lovely, well made film that delivers more than expected. -
michelleoverton20 June 2021So the first time I watched this movie I got about 1/4 of the way in. Moving kind of slow at first but I did finish it. It was an endearing movie that I'd watch again. Surprisingly a tear jerker plus a Great neighborhood feel to it. Give it a try!
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traceytak5 September 2021The storyline is rather dull, in fact very dull. The actors are all great and deserve a brilliant script to show off their talents, unfortunately this was not it.
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lottiecarter-4826629 June 2021I enjoyed the low stakes energy of the film. There aren't many films that are optimistic and life-affirming these days, especially in the indie sphere, and I appreciated that a bunch.
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hmgurny11 May 2021Brian Tyree Henry is great as always. There aren't many films that are optimistic and life-affirming these days, and I appreciated that a bunch. I think it will connect with a ton of people who wanna get outside after the pandemic. I live in Brooklyn and enjoyed this slice of life piece set in my city!
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If you've ever had any affection for New York City, this is a well made film showing the city at its best. The mostly theatrical staging grounds it not only in the scope of is intentions, but also the tradition of its backdrop.
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emilysight26 November 2020"The Outside Story" (2020), directed by Casimir Nozkowski, is a gentle tale about a voluntarily housebound obituary video-editor who locks himself out of his apartment for a day, sans shoes, some time after demanding his girlfriend move out as a consequence of her infidelity. Charles (Bryan Tyree Henry) lives in a three apartment building in Brooklyn, New York. The movie is set entirely within the neighborhood. Charles discovers that he has neighbors, that they have perspectives that differ from his, and that their lives are interesting. Many of these neighbors have tragic aspects to their lives but they embrace the day within which they are living. As he encounters each neighbor and the whimsical plot line deepens their relationships, Charles works away at his core issues: long-term creative blockage, and mixed-up anger and sorrow over his girlfriend.
This movie doesn't go in for fancy effects. The story is told in a straightforward timeline of Charles' day, interspersed with wistful memories of his girlfriend Isha (Sonequa Martin-Green). Charles' day feels real, the kind of a day wherein nothing magical happens but everything is transformed. The kind of day a stagnant soul longs for throughout the long plateau of settled, routine days. The kind of day in which it seems that everything is going wrong but actually fate is reversing course and offering up a new, fresh kind of life that Charles, as an aware person, is able to embrace and evolve into.
"The Outside Story" is called a comedy. The humor within in is generally as gentle and unforced as the moral and the pacing; it comes from paying attention and appreciating the variety of human personality and opinion. Sometimes it comes from the contrast between the anxieties of the mind and the needs of the human body and sometimes from the surprising actions of the characters. This movie is very good at the little surprises, just like life, wherein you think you know a person and can predict what the next action will be, but you are wrong. People and events continually surprise.
The quality of the writing and direction is backed up by the solid talent of the cast, set and costume designers, and the thoughtful camera angles. Every actor involved fills their roll with the complex dimensionality of a real person. I was most impressed by Sunita Mani, as the obsessive parking ticket cop, who played her role with gusto and challenged all of the stereotypes of black man/police encounters. My little complaint - which I've had since childhood and probably for life - is over the choice of girlfriend, but it is not the Martin-Green's fault she is gorgeous and that she must be gorgeous to be leading lady. She performed her role well. It's just that all the other characters were imperfect in appearance, as in life. Charles was played by an overweight, slow-moving man, which was suited his character. But we all know that the imperfect guy gets the beautiful and accomplished woman in the movies, and often in life. When can we move past that?
The set design was spot-on. The neighborhood itself was shown as the community it often is, and the apartments were perfectly matched with their inhabitants. It was obvious from Charles' apartment, for instance, that he was depressed, that he was normally very neat, and that the disorder within it was superficial and temporary. The pants he picked up off the floor were folded.
Camera angles were varied and pitch-perfect for the action or perspective.
Because so much in this movie feels like the absurdity of real life, one bit of fakery was particularly jarring for me. There was a neighbor who was supposed to be pregnant with a huge false belly hanging wrong under a bony face. As a woman who has been pregnant and around others pregnant it stood out as a big mistake.
I would not buy this movie. I would watch it once or twice more to study the camera angles and think about the minds and planning behind the skillful alignment of all elements with the plot. I would recommend it to others as well. I don't see it as a long-term favorite because with careful watching and thought afterwards, its message and story are easily digestible. -
eugene-7537211 May 2021This is a great easygoing comedy that stays exactly in it's lane. Well written and very thoughtfully directed.
Its the story of a likeable heartbroken editor that gets locked out of his apartment. Its not a huge adventure, or a series big slapstick laughs, but a believable collection of characters, stories and interactions that all come together in an organic and thoughtful way.
Brian Tyree Henry delivers a very nuanced and deep character in a screenplay that thankfully doesn't swing for the fences or beat you over the head with heavy handed messages.
It reminds me of the humanist side of other great indies that tell believable stories with equally believable characters. There's drama, there's laughs and there's real emotion, but its tempered in a way that let's you relate. You can feel for the characters and the stories because you've been there.
Some of the best comedy is funny because its true. This entire movie runs with that, with acting, production and a screenplay that serves up the truth (which can still be kind of absurd and crazy) in an entertaining and thoughtful way.
This is a very mature and promising start for Nozkowski, "The Outside Story" has made me a fan. -
felicia-lawyer14 October 2023I really enjoyed this movie. Each character had a unique and delightful personality. Totally different people with different perspectives all living in the same Brooklyn neighborhood. New York has five boroughs each with their own distinctiveness and ambiance. The preview mentioned New York (out of nostalgia) I was just looking at the movie to see if I could guess where in New York the movie took place. By the time I figured it was probably Brooklyn I was caught up in each and every character. I wanted to know their stories. I had to drop what I was supposed to be doing at watch this movie. Don't understand why I never heard of it before. This is a wonderful movie. The acting, writing, directing all 100%. I was going to pick a favorite character but I cannot. This is a purely delightful movie. I feel like a spent a day in Brooklyn and I miss it. Thank you for the virtual visit.