'Mr. Inbetween' season 2: Can hitman Ray Shoesmith keep his dark side away from his daughter for long?
'Mr. Inbetween' is an Australian series that sheds light on the double life of Ray Shoesmith. Filmmaker Nash Edgerton caught Scott Ryan's half-hour mockumentary 'The Magician' based on a working-class hitman, Ray, who juggles between his dark criminal world and his sweet family side at the Melbourne Film Festival. With producer Michele Bennett's help, Edgerton created a full-fledged show for FX starring the actor in the lead role.
In the show, Ray shuffles between two personality traits. On one hand, he is a deadpan hitman and on the other, he is endearing and loving to his close ones. A devoted father to his daughter Brit (Chika Yasumura), new boyfriend to Ally (Brooke Satchwell), best friend to Gary (Justin Rosniak) and caretaker to his ill brother Bruce (Nicholas Cassim), he takes care of his family and friends.
"I wouldn’t say I enjoy hitting people,” Ray says. “If I hit somebody, I generally got a pretty good reason." He takes his criminal business as a "job" and does it only when paid by his boss Freddy (Damon Herriman). Ray may be a hit-man for hire, but in his heart, he is a guardian angel for his loved ones.
Bald, cool and composed, Ray is at peace no matter what situation he is in. At certain instances, he really is a saving grace, especially when he saves his friend from being ousted from his house. In a funny episode, Ray comes to claim a porn DVD that his friend's girlfriend finds and saves the day. He does a similar stunt by teaching a lesson to two young thugs who drop his little girl’s ice cream cone. Through the six episodes in season one, Ray manages to keep his dark criminal side away from his daughter, but how long will he keep it to himself?
His daughter Brit is a lovely girl, who charges money from Ray and his brother Bruce whenever they swear. "You own me two dollars," he tells Bruce when he utters "s**t" by mistake in front of her. "Is Santa real?" she asks her dad, who tells her that none of the fictitious characters are real. When she asks about unicorns, he doesn't want to break her heart. He lies to her to make her happy and tells her he saw one in "the Blue Mountains".
As Ray Shoesmith's life takes a grueling turn with more action and violence, will his daughter find out about his double life in the next season? Or will Ray still be tight-lipped about his work as a hitman? It will be interesting to see the new twists and turns in the show as the new season airs on September 12 on FX.