Mr Inbetween: Ray makes people disappear

You don’t want to upset Ray Shoesmith. He’s got a short fuse and he kills people for a living. Nothing personal, mate.

A spinoff of the critically acclaimed 2005 film, The Magician, Scott Ryan reprises his role as the larrikan, but often violent hit-man, in the 2018 series Mr Inbetween.

Set in Sydney, as the story unfolds we find Ray sharing an icecream with his young daughter Brittany. He and his missus Jacinta (Natalie Tran) have split up.

As they’re walking along the street, two youths bump into Brittany, but instead of apologising they laugh and swear at her.

Bad move. Ray asks his daughter to wait in the car while he returns to deal with the pair, which in Ray-speak means bashing them.

And there you have it. That’s Ray in a nutshell. Loyal to family and friends, but with anger management issues that make him a danger to others.

In fact, he is forced to attend court-ordered anger management sessions as part of his parole.

Unless he learns to keep a lid on his fiery temper, the therapist warns he’ll soon find himself back inside.

What the therapist doesn’t know is that Ray is actually a hitman, paid to kill people for a living — usually bad people.

An ex-soldier, he argues there’s a time and a place for violence — what about World War II?

He has a point.

As well as struggling to contain his temper, Ray has to balance his clandestine life with his role as a father and family man, in a series that’s a chaotic mix of black comedy and short, intense, matter of fact violence.

The delivery is sparse and economical, blue collar and peppered with four letter words and topics best not discussed with your mum.

You’ll find yourself laughing and cringing all within the same breath.

Some people may find some it disturbing.

The series stars Scott Ryan as Raymond “Ray” Shoesmith, who’s nicknamed “The Magician” — you guessed, because he makes people disappear.

His best mate is Gary Thomas (Justin Rosniak) who is married to a fiery Russian woman, Tatiana (Lizzie Schebesta).

Ray and Gary have each other’s backs, no matter what.

Brooke Satchwell becomes Ray’s unlikely girlfriend, Ally. Unlikely, because he’s not the best-looking bloke in town, with the sly grin of a predator.

Ally is an ‘ambo’ and on the rebound from a violent relationship. She begins to have doubts about the future of their relationship after witnessing some of Ray’s outbursts.

Then there’s Nicholas Cassim as Bruce Shoesmith, Ray’s terminally ill older brother who has a motor neuron disease. When the time comes, he asks for Ray’s help to end his pain and suffering.

Calling the shots (literally) is Damon Herriman as Ray’s boss Freddy. He acts as a middleman for people looking to have someone knocked off.

Matt Nable makes an appearance as Dave, another hitman and Ray’s sometimes friend, work commitments aside.

Chika Yasumura, who plays Britanny, Ray’s daughter, is the daughter of Nash Edgerton, the director of the series.

The original film was apparently shot over 10 days with a budget of $3000.

Ryan edited a 30-minute version for presentation at the St. Kilda Film Festival, where it was spotted by stuntman and film producer Nash Edgerton (brother of actor Joel Edgerton), who took the project under his wing and turned it into a full-length feature film.

After receiving $330,000 in government grants, the film was re-released in 2005.

You can catch Mr Inbetween on Binge or Foxtel Now.

 

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