Inside Moves
I’m not going to lie- I really wish I adored Richard Donner’s “Inside Moves.” I don’t- I think it’s a pretty good movie that feels more focused in the second half than the first half, but when it’s really good at its best, it is truly some of the best directing of actors and scenes Donner has done, and you know what? I’ll take it. Plus, this is a movie I didn’t even really know about until I heard it discussed on the ’80s All Over podcast- since we haven’t had a new movie from Richard Donner in 12 years, anything new to me from the director is a win.
Richard Donner is a Hollywood pro in every sense of the word, and I mean that as a compliment. The director of “The Goonies,” “Superman,” “Lethal Weapon” and “The Omen” approaches each film with a workman’s skill and, when given good material, makes something highly rewarding for audiences. When the material isn’t quite as good, it hurts, but Donner will still do his best to make it work. The material he has for “Inside Moves”- a screenplay by Barry Levinson and Valerie Curtin from the novel by Todd Walton- wants to be great, but I had a hard time really getting a read of Roary, played by John Savage, during the first half of the movie as he survives a suicide attempt with a broken body, and finds his way to Max’s bar, which is populated with other people who are physically crippled, and have found a home around each other. Roary is the main character we’re following in the movie, but I felt disconnected with it being his movie, especially after Jerry (David Morse), a bartender at Max’s with similar limps in his leg to Roary, and he become friends. Jerry is actually a pretty great basketball player, and, when Roary realizes his leg can be fixed, finds a for Jerry to live out his dream of being a pro basketball player.
That’s a terrific setup for a movie, and it hits a lot of buttons I like, and have a weakness for, when it comes to underdog stories, but it was tough to get engaged with the story because Jerry’s arc seemed to overtake Roary’s in the build-up to the surgery that allows Jerry to play basketball, first in the semipros, later with the Golden State Warriors. And do not misunderstand me- I love Jerry’s arc, and I love the character, and a huge part of that is because of David Morse’s terrific performance as a character who feels like a big brother to the people in Max’s, and has a charisma that helps you understand why Roary and he become fast friends, and Roary decides he wants to help him. But Roary is our entry point into the film, and for a time in the first half of the film, it feels like it stops being his movie. The film is a surefire ensemble piece, to be sure, but when Roary is clearly seen as the lead, having him be a sideline part of the action during crucial parts of the story makes it hard to stay engaged with the movie. Thankfully, the film picks back up in the second half.
There are two phenomenal scenes in the second half of the movie that are up with some of Donner’s best directed scenes of his career, and they are both key character moments. The first is early on in the relationship between Roary and Louise (Diana Scarwid). They are coming back to the apartment they’re sharing, which is actually Jerry’s apartment, and we’re seen them at moments where they seem to be a romantic couple. But when they are kissing, and as Roary is expressing his feelings, Louise is backing away from the relationship becoming something more than friendship. The tension is palpable between the two, and Savage and Scarwid do painful, honest work as these two people are confronted by a moment of truth in a bond that has grown more serious than at least one of them expected it to, quicker than they thought it might. There aren’t always a lot of moments in Donner’s bigger movies to get to real character beats with teeth, and this one leaves open wounds that the characters will have to deal with later on in the story.
The second great scene in this film is the one that leads to the finale, and it puts what it’s set up throughout the rest of the film into focus. After his surgery, Jerry has isolated himself from the people in the bar as he’s been rehabilitating, and getting ready to play basketball. The only people he has kept in close physical contact with is Roary (who helped set up the surgery, and has been his biggest cheerleader) and Louise. He isn’t able to go into the bar and say hi to his friends, who have set up a homecoming for him, and we kind of figure out why on our own, even before Roary calls him out on it. Near the end of the film, he finally goes in to Max’s, and instead of a warm welcome, there’s uncomfortable silence before Jerry spills his guts to them. Anger arises from the people at the bar, but not because of how Jerry has been before this moment, but because of why he’s thinking of throwing away the chance he’s been given now. I love the way this scene plays out, and it’s a moment I’m inspired by, because it shows the true, complex nature of friendship, and how ideas of love and family can come from any connection, and that we’re drawn to specific people for a reason. “Inside Moves” seems to take a weird way to this moment, but I’m really glad it got there, because it feels very much like real life, and that’s always something special in a movie, and it’s something Richard Donner hasn’t always been given the chance to show in his movies, and why this one, however flawed, should be treasured by fans.
