Warning, this post contains spoilers. So if you have not seen Netflix’s Inside Man, you can watch it here. Now that’s out the way, let’s get back to the question at hand. Many viewers have been perplexed by Inside Man $253.33 meaning. Why does this guy get a $253.33 payment every time he has sex with his wife. Even when the main character explains it, the meaning is still over everyone’s head, myself included. Then it hit me.
Let’s start at the beginning. Inside Man is about an inmate, Jefferson Grieff, played by Stanley Tucci. He is a former criminology professor is on on death row for killing his wife. Imagine Sherlock Holmes meets Hannibal Lector. As a result, people come to him with cases to solves. But he has one criteria. The cases must have “moral worth.”
One of the most bizarre cases comes from a US Senator, Claude Kreiner. The Senator has been receiving a string of $253.55 payments. He has no idea where they are coming from. The payments began about three months prior with no warning. Grieff asks a series of questions, including if there was a pattern. Within days of having sex with his wife, he receives the payments. Grieff chuckles and without explanation informs him that he cannot take his case. The Senator is confused. At the same time, Dillon (fellow prisoner with photographic memory) doesn’t understand.
Previously, Senator Kreiner was accused of sexually assaulting two women while in college. A third victim, Selina Kedese, never came forward. Equally important, she works for the Senator and his wife. At this point, with the Senator gone, Dillon is unclear on the payments. As was I.
While he may not have sexually assaulted all three women, this happened to at least one of the women. At some point, Selina confided to Mrs. Kreiner about what happened 30 years earlier. As a result, Mrs. Kreiner has a guilty conscious sleeping with her husband, she reaches out to Selina. To seek help, she turns to a therapist to help her cope. To prevent her husband discovering what she knows, she instructs Selina to pay for her therapist bill with a secret account.
Being that it’s been 30 years, Selina in now in her 50s. All things considered, her eyesight may not be that well. So she increased the font size on her phone to see better. Every time Mrs. Kreiner has sex with her husband, she sees her therapist and sends Selena a text message. As a result, when Mrs. Kreiner texts Selena to “Pay therapist $253.55 cents,” Selena sees “Pay the rapist $253.55.” Instead of paying the therapist as Mrs. Kreiner suggests, Selena thinks she must pay Senator Kreiner. It makes a lot more sense when you see the two together.
Considering it has been three months, the therapist will not allow Mrs. Kreiner to continue sessions without payment. Someone has to be making the payments. In essence, the therapist bill is paid twice. First, Selena pays Senator Kreiner when she receives the text from Mrs. Kreiner. In addition, when Selena receives the bill from the therapist, she pays it. But why would Selena make the payments? Grieff explains “she naturally obedient or terrified of Mrs. Kreiner.
You can watch Inside Man streaming now on Netflix. In the meantime, watch the trailer below to get more details about the show.
