Matt is literally running on borrowed time. After a morning spent completely dismissing his wife who craves intimacy, he’s confronted by a local internal affairs worker Stephanie Miles (Regina King). Said worker is insistent on interviewing Matt about an incident he had with a perpetrator at a bar one night. Matt is very cryptic about what went down that night, despite eyewitness reports, and that’s when things begin to unravel. Ms. Miles has pictures and concrete reports of what occurred between Matt and the drunk, and this resulted in a violent confrontation that may have involved an exchange of bodily fluids. The problem is the suspect is infected with HIV and it may have been transmitted to Matt.
The biggest problem of all introduces itself when Matt finds himself evading questioning and providing every excuse in the book. But that doesn’t work well for his wife Sophie (Summer Glau) who is concerned and insistent that Matt go to a doctor to find out if he’s HIV positive. “Inside the Box” is a very intricate and well constructed drama and mystery that indicates how Matt has been programmed to lie, and how his lies are slowly turning against him. Surely the violent confrontation was terrible, but Matt has failed to relay to Sophie that he picked up a prostitute, and that the prostitute may have infected Matt with HIV before he ever came in contact with the suspect.
Matt is now living inside a house of cards that is doomed to fall very soon, because once it becomes painfully apparent what’s occurred, Matt will have to reveal all his secrets, and his life (and fragile family foundation) will soon crumble to the ground. “Inside the Box” is a very well acted and cohesive film, with solid performances by Wilson Bethel, Regina King, and Summer Glau (looking as gorgeous as ever). The only caveat is the political message behind the narrative that I just don’t agree with, and it’s one I highly think should be maintained in our society. That aside, “Inside the Box” is a nail bitingly tense drama teeming with feature length film potential.