The Man Inside

It wasn’t perfect, but Plan B’s fiery ‘Ill Manors’ did throw into sharp relief the lacklustre nature of most British urban drama. A case in point: ‘The Man Inside’, which sets up a compelling group of characters – aspiring boxer Clayton (Ashley Thomas), his trainer (Peter Mullan) and their families – then proceeds to haul them through the most predictable inner-city street story imaginable. There are meaty moral issues at work here, as Clayton struggles with the scars left by his psycho father (David Harewood) – but sadly, writer-director Dan Turner’s characters aren’t just black and white on the outside. The performances are a mixed bag, though it’s the newcomers – Thomas especially – who shine. Michelle Ryan’s turn as a junkie teeters on the edge of parody, while Harewood’s ludicrously demonic cockney mentalist plunges right in. A combination of flat scripting and dull camerawork leave ‘The Man Inside’ languishing in TV-movie hell.