Outside – Film Review

Ramzi (Farahd Abdullah Wallizada), an agoraphobic young artist living a hermetic existence in his downtown apartment, and Ana (Megan Tully), a lonely undergrad moonlighting as an escort as they begin an unlikely friendship and romance.

Outside is the first true surprise of 2022. The poster was excellent but the synopsis left me feeling a little bit confused because it didn’t seem like an easy storyline to pull off, but alas, writer/director Farahd Abdullah Wallizada has crafted a beautiful and intricate story of two individuals who slowly grow closer to each other the more time goes on. But everything isn’t so straightforward. The relationship the two have is a complicated one and it takes a long time for them to get a good understanding of each other.

The writing is all the more impressive when you consider the fact that this movie only runs at an hour and twenty-six minutes long, and yet I never once felt as if it was too short or too long. The running time felt perfect for the kind of story Wallizada wanted to tell, and boy what a story it is. Since this film is so incredibly short, I won’t get into a lot of detail so as not to spoil anything. But what I will say is that the film has an amazing way of creeping up on you and getting you emotionally invested in the characters in some genuinely surprising ways.

Wallizada is definitely going to have quite a bright future ahead of him. It’s genuinely shocking that this is his directorial feature debut because virtually every scene of Outside feels as if it was filmed by a master filmmaker. Not only is he an excellent force to be reckoned with behind the camera, but he is also just as brilliant in front of the camera as well, delivering an unbelievably strong yet laid-back performance as Ramzi.

The same exact thing can be said about Megan Tully in the role of Ana. Together, the two have absolutely fantastic chemistry. Probably the best chemistry I’ve seen in a film so far this year. Sadly, this movie is probably going to fly under many people’s radars but I can only hope that’s not the case because Farahd Abdullah Wallizada’s Outside is a truly impressive debut feature film. I greatly look forward to whatever project he sets his sights on next, because if it is anything like Outside, then we are definitely going to be for quite a treat. Time will only tell if this movie is a success. I, for one, hope it is. Seriously, if you have not yet seen this film, do yourself a favor and give it a try.