You’ve probably seen the memes. A bald, terrifyingly calm man with a gap-toothed grin explaining the "proper" way to dispose of a body or how to handle a rude stranger in a park. That’s Ray Shoesmith. But before the hit FX series Mr Inbetween became a global phenomenon, there was the Mr In-Between movie—formally titled The Magician.
It’s weird.
Most people think the show was the starting point. It wasn't. Back in 2005, a guy named Scott Ryan, who was basically living on the bones of his backside, decided to grab a camera and film a mockumentary about a hitman in Melbourne. He didn't have a budget. He didn't have a crew. He just had this character. Ray.
The Raw Origin of The Magician
Let’s be real: low-budget indie films usually suck. They’re often over-indulgent or technically unwatchable. The Magician, which is the actual Mr In-Between movie that started this whole universe, is the exception that proves the rule.
The film follows Ray Shoesmith as he’s being interviewed by a filmmaker named Massimo. It’s gritty. It’s shaky. It feels like something you weren't supposed to find in a thrift store bin. You see Ray doing "the job," which involves a lot of driving, a lot of waiting, and some deeply uncomfortable conversations about the ethics of killing people for money.
What makes this movie work isn't the violence. It’s the mundane stuff.
Ray isn't John Wick. He’s not some "super-assassin" with a gold coin collection and a bulletproof suit. He’s a guy who worries about his daughter and gets annoyed by people who don't have basic manners. He’s a blue-collar worker whose trade just happens to be murder. That’s the magic of it. It’s the banality of evil served with a side of dim sims.
Why Scott Ryan almost never made it
Honestly, the story behind the movie is as wild as the film itself. Scott Ryan wrote, directed, and starred in it because, frankly, nobody else was going to hire him. He was a frustrated actor who took matters into his own hands.
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He filmed it for roughly $3,000 AUD.
Think about that. You can’t even buy a decent used car for that much these days. He spent years editing it on a home computer that probably struggled to run Minesweeper. When it finally hit the Melbourne International Film Festival, people lost their minds. It was different. It didn't feel like a "movie." It felt like a threat.
How the Movie Differs from the Series
If you’ve binged the three seasons of the FX show, going back to the Mr In-Between movie is a bit of a trip.
The tone is much more "found footage." In the show, the cinematography is gorgeous—lots of wide shots of the Australian outback and moody lighting in Sydney suburbs. The movie is cramped. It's claustrophobic.
In The Magician, Ray is younger and, if possible, even more volatile. The show gives us a Ray who is trying—and often failing—to be a better man. The movie Ray? He’s just a man. He hasn't quite reached that level of weary fatherhood that defines his character later on.
- The Mockumentary Style: The movie uses the "camera in the room" trope. Ray talks directly to the lens. It creates this weird intimacy where you feel like his accomplice.
- The Violence: It’s less stylized. In the show, the fights are expertly choreographed (Scott Ryan is a legit martial artist). In the movie, it’s messy and fast.
- The Humor: Both have that dry, Aussie wit, but the movie is darker. It’s the kind of humor that makes you laugh and then immediately feel bad about it.
The Cult Following and the Nash Edgerton Connection
You can't talk about the Mr In-Between movie without mentioning Nash Edgerton. He saw the potential in Ryan’s raw footage and helped shape it into a feature film. This partnership is basically the reason we have the TV show today.
Nash understood that Ray Shoesmith was a once-in-a-generation character.
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For years after the 2005 release, the movie lived in this weird limbo. It was a "if you know, you know" kind of thing among cinephiles. It didn't get a massive global theatrical release. It didn't have a huge marketing budget. It grew through word of mouth. People would pass around DVDs or tell their friends about "that Aussie hitman movie."
This slow burn is exactly why the TV show felt so authentic when it finally arrived over a decade later. It wasn't a rushed cash-in. It was a character that had been marinating in Scott Ryan’s head for twenty years.
The Ray Shoesmith Philosophy
Why do we like a guy who kills people?
It’s a question that keeps psychologists up at night. With Ray, it’s because he has a code. In the Mr In-Between movie, we see the seeds of this code. He hates bullies. He values loyalty. He thinks the world has become soft and disrespectful.
There’s a scene where he discusses the "ratio" of good people to bad people. It’s chilling because he’s so logical about it. He’s not a psychopath who enjoys pain; he’s a pragmatist who sees violence as a tool to fix a broken social contract.
We live in a world where we often feel powerless against jerks or bureaucracy. Ray is the ultimate wish-fulfillment character. He does what we wish we could do to the guy who cuts us off in traffic or the person being mean to a waitress. He’s the "In-Between" man—stuck between being a monster and being a hero.
Where to Find the Original Film Today
Tracking down The Magician can be a bit of a hunt depending on where you live. It’s not always on the big streaming platforms like Netflix or Disney+.
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Often, you’ll find it tucked away on specialty platforms like MUBI or available for digital rental on Amazon. If you’re a physical media nerd, the Australian DVD imports are the way to go, though you'll need a region-free player.
It is worth the effort.
Watching the movie after the series gives you a much deeper appreciation for the performance. You see the subtle ways Ryan evolved the character. The eyes are the same—that "dead" look that can turn into a warm smile in a heartbeat—but the weight on his shoulders is different.
Why You Should Care in 2026
The landscape of entertainment is currently drowning in CGI and predictable "formula" writing. The Mr In-Between movie is the antithesis of that. It’s raw. It’s human.
It reminds us that you don't need $200 million to tell a compelling story. You just need a character people can't look away from. Ray Shoesmith is that character. Whether he’s debating the merits of a particular brand of chips or burying a body in the woods, he is utterly captivating.
If you call yourself a fan of crime drama, you haven't seen the full picture until you go back to where it started.
Actionable Steps for Fans
If you want to dive deeper into the world of Ray Shoesmith and the origins of the Mr In-Between movie, here is how to do it properly:
- Watch "The Magician" first: Don't treat it as an extra; treat it as the foundation. Look for the 2005 original version, not just clips on YouTube.
- Compare the "Massimo" scenes: Pay attention to how Ray interacts with the filmmaker in the movie versus how he interacts with his friend Gary in the series. It shows a massive shift in his social dynamics.
- Research the "Blue-Tongue Films" collective: This was the group (including Nash and Joel Edgerton, David Michôd, etc.) that helped bring this style of gritty Australian cinema to the world. Their other work, like Animal Kingdom, is essential viewing if you like this vibe.
- Listen to Scott Ryan interviews: The man is notoriously private and doesn't do a lot of press, but the interviews he has done about the struggle to get the movie made are incredibly inspiring for any aspiring creator.
The legacy of Ray Shoesmith isn't just about the kills or the cool dialogue. It’s about the fact that a guy from the suburbs of Australia, with no money and a cheap camera, created one of the most iconic anti-heroes in modern history. That’s the real magic.
Next Steps for Your Watchlist:
Check your local streaming libraries for The Magician. If it's not available, look for "The Inbetweeners" (don't get it confused with the UK comedy!) or search specifically for Scott Ryan's early filmography on independent cinema sites. Once you’ve seen the movie, re-watching the first episode of the series will feel like a completely different experience.