Critical Condition: Mr Inbetween

Mr Inbetween | SoHo, 10.05 Thursday

➢➢ “Nothing short of a stunning revelation. Created and written by Scott Ryan, who also plays the lead character, Ray, a hitman facing something of a midlife crisis — but mostly just handling his business while suffering no fools — Mr Inbetween is a coming out of sorts for Ryan as an exceptional talent. He’s magnetic in every scene and, more impressively, as a writer he’s crafted something fresh and unpredictable from a well worn form.” — The Hollywood Reporter.

➢➢ “Mr. Inbetween is another dark comedy about the divided soul of the 21st century male, caught between rage and cuddly vulnerability — in dramatic terms, between Scorsese and Everybody Loves Raymond. Ray, played by Scott Ryan — who created and wrote the series, based on his own film The Magician — is a tough guy for hire who will rough someone up or, if needed, put him away permanently. His situation recalls Bill Hader’s hit-man comedy Barry on HBO, but Ray, while sensitive, isn’t particularly interested in redemption, artistic or otherwise.” — New York Times.

➢➢ “FX’s breezy half-hour show joins the club of new series about assassins — but this one can’t decide whether to condemn its lead character or pat him on the back … The series (directed by Nash Edgerton, brother of Joel) is part of this year’s welcome trend of half-hour dramas, which includes Starz’s Vida, Facebook Watch’s Sorry For Your Loss and Amazon’s upcoming Homecoming. This one is slightly more comedic than the others, but for the most part it demonstrates the value of not overextending what’s a pretty slight story.” — Rolling Stone.

➢➢ “Mr. Inbetween ends up a rewarding experience worth much more exploration … Edgerton wields such humour well, never using it to let his main character off the hook while still allowing the audience to breathe a bit. Despite an apparent over-saturation of hitman stories — and stories questioning the morality of a violent world — there’s certainly room for one more like this.” — IndieWire.

➢➢ “If you’re going to try your hand at a hitman story, it’s on you to come up with something more interesting than the many dozens we’ve seen before. Mr Inbetween unfortunately, doesn’t … Neither Mr Inbetween’s story nor Ryan’s portrayal of this determinedly laconic character have much urgency to them.” — Variety.