MR. INBETWEEN - How to Make Action Feel Real

There's a little known show called Mr. InBetween. Little known to me at least. It’s Australian, which is likely why it didn’t make as much of a splash in the over world, that I recently found out. I’d never heard of it before. KZbin Shorts fed me some clips and I became intrigued. I was interested for a few reasons. One is that I am always interested in a competent main character. Someone who knows what they are doing. A Jason Bourne instead of Harry Potter.
And also it avoids a gripe of mine that doesn’t help when it comes to finding appeal with a massive wider audience. The main character actually looks legitimate. What I mean by that is contrast the show The Rookie. This is meant to be a cop drama that’s fun and sad and serious and engaging but it’s not aiming to be Chernobyl or Breaking Bad or anything. It’s aiming to be daytime Television. And my gripe with the Rookie is that everyone is hot. Hollywood hot and attractive. Every single main character. It annoys me and breaks the immersion and takes away from the show. It’s why I don't like it and I know I’ll likely be in a minority.
So when we first meet Ray Shoesmith, our main character I found his appearance uncanny. He’s off putting, and in fact, he looks like a scary guy you don’t want to meet or be around. There are scenes of him when he’s being menacing and he knows it where he’s standing in the dark smiling through the door and it’s not pretty. He’s one of the few main characters who I believe is a hitman who mucks through the darker and grim parts of society.
You see most scenes of action, the writers and director try to make action scenes as intense and with high stakes, the daughter is kidnapped, the bomb in the hospital is about to go off, the president is in danger, the music is action packed, and the there are villainous monologues going off and explosions and bullets everywhere. This is what you think of for an action movie or great action scenes. Mad Max with the dirt bikes jumping over the car to throw down grenades. The Gray Man watching the reflection of a nearby building to spot his enemies and shoot them through the ceiling of a train he’s running on.
This is done because it’s interesting. It draws you in. The dazzling spectacle. The action is intense and once it has your attention it has to grow more and more intense until the climax. The burning building collapsing and the hero rescues the maiden and escapes just in time. James Bond disarms the bomb right at the exact moment. And it works. We even know that this isn’t what really happens but only in the movies. It’s fun. Even if it’s not real.
But this is not the only way. The show takes a more normal view and tries to make the life of a hitman so normal and real that it’s intriguing. It draws us in because we see someone who’s living a normal life watching some nameless and faceless TV show to take the edge off the day, with friends who are screwballs and have to deal with dickheads walking down the street or driving in traffic. It’s so normal it’s real and what this does by contrast is when someone pulls a gun, it’s more akin to if someone pulled a gun on you in real life. If someone did that it would be something you’d never forget. It would be the realest thing ever and the most intense and your interest would be completely captivated. And if you could put that in a TV show it would grab your interest.
This is what the show does. The tricky part as always is you can’t make the normal life in any TV show too mundane because then it becomes boring. There is a balance. Going from normal to abnormal and back. Going from a hit and killing a man to going home and taking your daughter to school.
Ray and his coworker go to shakedown a guy for money and it’s rather textbook. We’ve been drawn into Ray’s devilish charm and his competence to where we enjoy watching him blackmail a man into giving up his hidden stash of money by threatening his family.
Ray feels like a real person. A normal guy or bloke. And it’s this reality that draws you in and makes any action scene so intense despite sometimes there’s only a bullet or two fired. There’s barely an explosion. Before you know it, you’re pulled in and rooting for Ray. Hoping that it all works out with him and this girl Ally. That they may actually make it work, despite his two lives. That he can be a good example and take care of his daughter.
The stakes are simply that Ray doesn’t want to die, and the other people aren’t much to speak of. And that’s always what impresses me about stories. Is when they can make the simplest things interesting.
This is what makes this show and what makes it so different and so good from others. It captures a mundane reality and makes it feel so real that it holds our interest and we’re there rooting for Ray and have watched the whole first season before you know it.
Music by Simon Swerwer,
Cuggin's Cove,
Emergence,
Inith and Od Travel North

[@bobuncle8704]

Interesting format. Wasn’t too keen on it at first, but it grew on me. I hadn’t thought so much about the appeal of the show, but I think you’re spot on.

[@geoffcassidy9981]

Thank you! Appreciate the comment and thoughts.

[@paulstanford7535]

One of my all time favorite shows

[@jietan4424]

Tight script, sharp dialogue, phenomenal acting... one of a kind TV drama in line with the caliber of Tarantino (Pulp Fiction), Kubrick (Full Metal Jacket) and Coppola (The God Father)... It is from its dialogue which fully flashed out the character 'Ray' and everyone around him which gives out the sense of realism!

[@geoffcassidy9981]

I do love the dialogue. It reminded me of Tarantino where they would talk about mundanely normal things between hits. Dave and Ray's conversation about the name Quinton was my favorite.

[@EirikJeppesen]

First time viewer here. Cool format, I like how you present. I would prefer if the audio was delayed by a second or two compared to the video so that the written words aren't constantly trailing your speech. As of now, it feels a bit like watching a pirated movie with a subtitle track that's not properly aligned to the dialogue. Not looking for a perfect sync or anything, just the variation that sometimes I'll see the beginning of a word before I hear it. If you want to take it even further, apply a ~20% speed increase when the pen is writing and slow the video down in the pauses to get back on track. I think it would make the words "pop" a bit more. Also, if you feel like adding a bit of visual variety, add a green highlighter on the "good" words, red highlighter on the "bad" words and yellow on the weird, complicated or unclear. Not all the time, just every once in a while, in place of the underscore you occasionally add. These are just my first thoughts after getting 4 minutes into the video. Now, I'll see if I can't get through to the end. On topic: Mr. Inbetween was a truly refreshing watch when I saw it a couple of years ago. One of the few shows where I'd be up to crowdfund a new season.

[@geoffcassidy9981]

Very much appreciate the thoughts and comment. I'll give it a test and see how it works!

[@eddienatan9018]

Awesome and the movie as well. The Magician

[@geoffcassidy9981]

I still need to watch it! I've just finished season 2 of the show so far.

[@andysmith5396]

Awesome show

[@theronerd]

Wish the director, whose Ray, kept the show going. Just finished it today and I'm craving more.

[@geoffcassidy9981]

Yeah I was very impressed that he could write, direct, and star in the show. I hope we see more of him either in his own show or others. It'd be a shame for him to stop after this.

[@theronerd]

@@geoffcassidy9981 agreed!

[@bobuncle8704]

@@geoffcassidy9981 have a go at ‘The Magician’. A movie, which is the precursor to this show. Once again, written, produced, and main character by the same guy.

[@kennymacm3031]

If you can’t be arsed using the correct English “Motor Neurone Disease” then I can’t be arsed watching the rest 😮

[@geoffcassidy9981]

This seems a strange thing to be disgruntled by as I simply didn't want to name the incorrect one. And please, see yourself out.