For the sum of Pixar's latest masterpiece, Inside Out, audiences are given a glimpse inside a young girl named Riley's head; the main characters of the movie are Riley's emotions, which consist of Joy, Sadness, Disgust, Anger and Fear. For the entirety of her existence, Joy (Amy Poehler) has been in control of Riley, and so most of Riley's experiences have been overtly happy ones. When Riley moves to a new town and starts a new school, though, things start to change - and Sadness (Phyllis Smith) has a sudden urge to be in control of Riley's emotions. She begins to taint and tarnish her "Core Memories," which results in Riley falling into a deep depression. Inside Out basically paints Sadness as a pesky irritation for the entire movie, to the point at which you're left wondering why she exists in the first place. And then comes the genius twist that makes Inside Out so brilliant: we eventually learn that all of Riley's joyful moments have links to sad moments, specifically a memory of a hockey game. When Riley was upset at that time, it brought out empathy in other people, which led to her being happy again. The twist that Joy and Sadness both as necessary as one other, was a masterstroke. Because, of course, Joy cannot exist without Sadness, and vice versa. And making fully grown adults not see it coming was deft filmmaking
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
