Mary Mara in Stranger Inside (2001)
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Review
Stranger Inside (2001 TV movie) is an HBO film written and directed by Cheryl Dunye as a follow-up to her acclaimed Watermelon Woman. She wanted to tackle a project about contemporary black women, and it struck her that many black women were behind bars. She researched the material for this film visiting inmates, and hired several ex-cons for smaller parts. This Liberian born director is only 36, and should have much more in store for us. The main story is that of “Treasure”, (Yolanda Ross), who turns 18 in juvenile detention, and is thrilled at her transfer to the penitentiary, as her mother, whom she has never met, is serving a life sentence there. She has clearly been in the prison system for a long time, and knows the ins and outs of surviving on the inside.
All of the women are realistically portrayed. Most of them are not stunningly beautiful, and most of them are not very nice. “Brownie”, Treasure's mother, is one of the worst, and seems to be behind most of the drug sales and other black market in the prison. Although this is a character driven story with a single location and nobody to root for, I found it compelling, probably due to its authenticity. It was shot in the no longer active Cybill Brand prison for women in LA.
Ross was excellent in the role, in what was her first feature length film. I look forward to seeing more from her. Rain Phoenix turned in a strong performance as a tough as nails prisoner. The film won several awards at gay film festivals, partly because of portrayal of gay relationships inside. IF this is your kind of film, by all means rent it. It is not, however, light entertainment. The proper grade is C.
Nudity Report: It looked, in the opening credits, like it would be a WIP nudity-fest, as four "new fish," including Yolanda Ross, Mary Mara and two unidentified women had lengthy full-frontals while being processed in, but that was it for exposure.
IMDb Summary: IMDB has it at 5.9 of 10.
Written by: Tuna …courtesy of Scoopy.net