Radio Inside is a 1994

1994 in film

1994 was a significant year in film.The top grosser worldwide was The Lion King, which to date stands as the highest-grossing traditionally-animated film of all time...

 American

Cinema of the United States

The cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...

 drama film, written and directed by Jeffrey Jackson Bell.

Plot

Having graduated from college, Matthew Anderson travels to Florida to spend some time with his older brother while deciding what career to pursue. He is not motivated by money or desire for worldly success; he spends a great deal of time observing marine creatures at the local marine life observation station, and successfully defends his right (against the landlady) to have a small aquarium in the rented apartment. He also earns a significant paycheck by writing radio advertisements, but that sort of work repels him. Urged by his brother to get a job, he becomes a lifeguard at the municipal swimming pool.

In flashback scenes the audience learns that the boys used to spend pleasant summers at a Wisconsin lake with their family, often swimming across the lake for sport. The final such summer ended in tragedy - Michael had been busy with his career by then and was not at the lake; Matthew and his father began swimming across the lake but the father suffered cramps midway and drowned despite Matthew's frantic efforts to save him.

Much of the film is devoted to Matthew's inner thoughts, including his conversations and visits with Jesus. Matthew tells us at the film's beginning that his stream-of-consciousness thoughts are like having a radio inside, with the dial being constantly tuned across the spectrum of available stations.

Michael is dating a girl, Natalie, and is considering asking her hand in marriage. However, he is often insensitive to her emotional needs, a fact which his younger brother recognizes and tries to help with. Matthew then becomes emotionally attached to Natalie, but finally realizes that in order to keep his brother, he must give Natalie up, much as he gave up his father. The heaviness of this realization drives him to a suicide attempt. He concludes that God wants people to give everything to God, at least everything they value dearly.

Cast

• William McNamara
  William McNamara
  William West McNamara is an American actor.-Early life:Born in Dallas, Texas, McNamara is the son of a professional race car driver for the Ford Motor Company and an interior designer. He attended Columbia University and studied at the Lee Strasberg Institute...
  
  .....Matthew Anderson
• Elisabeth Shue
  Elisabeth Shue
  Elisabeth Judson Shue is an American actress and producer, most famous for her roles in the films The Karate Kid, Adventures in Babysitting, Cocktail, Back to the Future Parts II and III and Leaving Las Vegas, for which she won five acting awards and was nominated for an Academy Award, a Golden...
  
  .....Natalie
• Dylan Walsh
  Dylan Walsh
  Dylan Walsh is an American actor. He is best known as Dr. Sean McNamara in the FX television series Nip/Tuck.-Early life:...
  
  .....Michael Anderson
• Peewee Love.....T.J.
• Leslie Erganian
  Leslie Erganian
  Leslie Erganian, is an American artist, television correspondent, and arts education advocate. Her multi-disciplinary work is influenced by the Surrealists and often incorporates found objects and photographic images into collage and assemblage constructions and installations...
  
  .....Mother (Anderson)
• Steve Zurk.....Father (Anderson)
• Ilse Earl.....Mrs. Piccalo (landlady)
• Ara Madzounian.....Jesus
• Tony Fabozzi.....Ford
• Brett Murray.....Young Matthew
• Justin Taylor.....Young Michael