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Ramzi (Farahd Abdullah Wallizada) hasn't left his apartment building for the past five or so years. In fact, he only even leaves his apartment when he has to, like to carry the trash to the chute. Fortunately for him, he doesn't have to: He's independently rich and can dedicate all his time to his vocation, painting. Also he's in an online gamer community, which also eats up a lot of his time. And every now and again when he gets lonely he orders a prostitute online, not so much for the sex but for the company and (maybe) conversation, as in fact he doesn't always even function properly in bed. Not all prostitutes enjoy conversations and rather get paid just for sex - but young Ana (Megan Tully) does. Now she's a final year student aspiring a architecture major, and she has taken on the job to pay off her student's debts, without her fiancé (Sam Morgan) even knowing about it. It's not that she enjoys having sex with strangers, but it pays well - but she sees something in Ramzi, and his artistic streak sure speaks to her. Ramzi finds it easy to open up to her, and he finds it easy to open up to her. In turn, she tries to cure him from his agoraphobia, one babystep at a time, with mixed results. It's not long before she stops charging him, and actually stops by at random hours. And it's not long before the two of them are having an actual sexual relationship. But things aren't easy for Ana as well, especially when she finds out she's pregnant, and eventually being an escort so overwhelms her she quits during a job. And then there are the scars on her back she gets angry when anybody even mentions. And of course Ramzi notices them and inquires about them ...

Outside is a pretty impressive drama, basically a character piece about two very different characters that seem to belong together rather naturally (as opposed to a "clever" plottwist), and also a very quiet film moving at a laid back pace, as if to negate the "big" subjects it tackles. But in the end everything falls back on the characters, and the two leads do a great job making them utterly believable and relatable, and together with a subtle yet moody directorial effort get the most out of the limited locations. And the fact that the movie doesn't even try to offer any general answers and leaves things open at the end only helps making this film very real - and a pretty good watch, too.

review © by Mike Haberfelner

 

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