I absolutely hated The I Inside for numerous reasons, one being how poorly executed it was as well as confusing but the main reason why I thought this movie was utter garbage and worth a mere 2 stars was the fact that once the ending reveals the truth behind the madness of the film it is quite clear that the majority of the plot and movie was contrived and pointless.The ending of the film brings the realization that Simon Cable (Phillipe) died along with his brother and his brother's fiancé, Claire in a car accident in 2000 and because he can simply not accept what happened and feels responsible for the other deaths, he keeps going back in time in his mind to try and change what happened and save them. The problem? If a character wants to change the events that lead to a deadly accident in 2000, common sense says that the character should awake in the year 2000 right before the accident and well, try to change what happened. Such a concept was too simple for The I Inside so they concocted a completely pointless plot where the character of Simon wakes up in the year 2002 after supposedly being poisoned by his wife, Anna and has no memory of the last 2 years. Simon is told that his brother died in a car accident in 2000 but he survived. The movie amps up the mystery and intrigue when Simon, while wandering around the hospital somehow finds himself entering the year 2000. He will be walking down the hallway in 2002 and then turn a corner and enter for example the lounge and instead of it being 2002, he's back in 2000 in the same hospital. The movie continually shifts from the year 2002 to the year 2000 and back again in the hospital while simultaneously having Simon return to his home in the year 2000 to try and change events that led to the car accident that in his mind, only killed his brother. The movie also adds the idea that whatever happens to people in the year 2000, will happen to them in 2002 which adds more mystery to the plot. For example, in the year 2000, in the hospital, Simon ends up hallucinating and stabbing someone to death, someone who he saw alive in the hospital in the year 2002, only for that person to then die spontaneously and start bleeding out everywhere in the year 2002. So... why is the movie so bad? Simple - because NONE of that meant anything to the actual plot once all is revealed at the end. The entire 'time traveling' between the years 2002 and 2000, having things happen to people in 2000 and then have it show up in 2002 was, in the end, pointless and had NOTHING to do with the actual plot of Simon not accepting his death from the car accident in 2000 and wanting to go back in time to try and change the outcome. There is no reason at all why he couldn't have just woken up in 2000. The entire 2002 subplot is 100 percent bullshit and it's that subplot that was the only thing that made the film somewhat mysterious. As for the answer of why the year 2002, the movie tries to justify that entire plot by making Simon's time of death in 2000, at 20:02 as if that is why he keeps waking up 2 years after the accident and then has to shift between the years 2002 and 2000 but it's weak at best. Clearly, the writers came up with the time traveling concept first and then tagged on that his death was at 20:02 to try and make it not seem contrived and ridiculous that he was randomly waking up 2 years after the accident to try and change events that occurred right before the accident. Failure.As for my explanation for what happened in the film, there is no doubt that Simon was killed in 2000 and everything in 2002 is an illusion. What solidified it for me was the fact that his father was his doctor in 2002 and the puzzle he was putting together in the lobby turned out to be of a photo of him, his brother and his father that we see at the end at the brother's house.2 stars - the actual movie is confusing, poorly directed and poorly edited and once you find out that the entire 2002 time traveling to the year 2000 was completely unnecessary, and just a stunt to try and make the film interesting, it's hard to not see it as complete rubbish.

"When Simon (Ryan Phillippe) awakens in the hospital after surviving a near-fatal accident, amnesia has erased the last two years from his memory. He learns that his brother (Robert Sean Leonard) was killed, he has married a woman he doesn't remember (Piper Perabo)… and he's haunted by strange visions of the woman he loved (Sarah Polley). Soon, he starts to uncover the truth behind his brother's death and unravel the unbelievable turns his life has taken…" Actually (or perhaps not…), Mr. Phillippe falls in love with his estranged brother's fiancée (Ms. Polley), which results in a violent confrontation - and, an even more tragic car accident, involving all three. Roland Suso Richter's direction of Michael Cooney's "Point of Death" is intriguing, engrossing, and imaginatively plotted. But, the ending does not really fulfill the film's promises - and, the lead character's relationships with both brother and lover lack passion. Still, it's more good than not.****** The I Inside (2003) Roland Suso Richter ~ Ryan Phillippe, Piper Perabo, Sarah Polley

I've never liked the idea of test screenings. The changes they make just end up neutering a movie and making it "safe" for the general masses. But if ever a movie needed feedback to prompt a rewrite and alternate ending, this is it. The first half of this movie is spectacular. It's atmospheric, tense, and confusing (in a good way). It kept you guessing the whole way. Much like Memento, it's an intelligent film that makes you watch closely and think. The story could have gone a number of directions....but the last half, it all falls apart. They start changing the "rules", the suspense gives way to straight storytelling, and the ending goes a completely different direction than it could have, and SHOULD have. It's not just that I didn't like the ending or that it didn't match my predictions. The problem is the truth is still unclear and viewers are left confused. Too much is left unexplained. As it is, the film is wasted potential. A good story and a good movie, but one that could have been so much better with a different ending.

I found this a very refreshing film in that the camera angles are creative without becoming annoying, and the focus is on the characters rather than on effects. As has already been said here, though, "The I Inside" does try to get a bit too clever for its own good, and the very last sequence should simply have been dropped in my opinion. Interestingly enough, there is an alternative ending supplied, which was much closer to how I would have liked things to have gone. I'd recommend this to anyone looking for something off the mainstream, but it should be taken with a "the film's what you make of it" approach towards the end to still be enjoyed. Oh, and if you liked "Jacob's Ladder" it's a must-see...