On the surface, the idea of being trapped inside a luxury apartment sounds like a glorious dream. Situated well above the unending bustle of New York City, surrounded by high-end art and top-of-the-line amenities, who could possibly complain about that? In director Vasilis Katsoupis’ new feature Inside, this premise becomes a nightmare for Willem Dafoe’s unlucky thief. What first seems to be the height of wealth and comfort becomes a deeply unsettling prison that only gets more haunting as the film goes on. Inside is unfortunately a bit too long for its own good, though Dafoe gives a knockout performance in what is essentially a one-man show.
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The Oscar-nominated actor plays Nemo, an art thief backed by some unknown associates who help him gain access to an airy, ultra-modern high-rise penthouse. Nemo slips through the apartment with ease, getting most of the pieces he’s come to nab before heading to the front door to make his exit. However, a malfunction with the security system instead leaves Nemo stranded on his own, with no way of getting out or contacting his allies. To make matters worse, there is minimal food, the water and gas have been turned off, and a broken thermostat leaves temperatures swinging from dangerously hot to distressingly cold. Nemo must rely on all of his smarts in order to survive his surprisingly inhospitable surroundings, even as his mind begins to unravel.

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Willem Dafoe in Inside

A movie like Inside would not work without an extremely committed actor at its center, and Dafoe gives his all in depicting Nemo’s gradual descent into madness. Of course, one expects no less of the man who is known for unhinged characters, but Dafoe is working with some unique challenges here. The dialogue is sparse, with Nemo only talking to himself more and more as the film goes on. The actor instead conveys Nemo’s desperation through physical means; one particularly arresting moment sees the thief rest his head inside the freezer. Dafoe eagerly scrapes the sides, desperate for some kind of liquid, before resting his head on his arm and quietly breaking down. To that end, Inside is an incredible showcase for Dafoe’s talents.

Katsoupis lends the film a great sense of space. The apartment itself, strikingly rendered by production designer Thorsten Sabel, becomes a character in and of itself, and Katsoupis is careful to capture as many details within it as possible. Weaving static shots into the action, the director, along with DOP Steven Annis, takes note of the bare-bones fridge, the growing pile of wood chippings on the floor (courtesy of Nemo trying to carve his way out of the heavy front door), and other increasingly disgusting elements of Nemo’s horrible circumstances. For example, the lack of a working toilet is a detail that comes back as a devastating reminder that Nemo might be in a fancy apartment, but he might as well be on a deserted island —that would actually be a better situation.

Willem Dafoe in Inside

As Inside gets further along, though, its compelling premise grows stale. There’s only so much time an audience can watch a man struggle to survive in one place. At a certain point, the movie is simply wallowing in Nemo’s insanity. Katsoupis (who came up with the story that screenwriter Ben Hopkins then fashioned into a script) doesn’t shy away from the difficult things Nemo must resort to in order to survive, which makes for an increasingly trying viewing experience. Inside offers a break from Nemo’s solitary existence with a brief dream sequence that, while padding the runtime even further, also hints at the life Nemo might’ve wished he could have, but now seems farther away than ever. The ending offers an ambiguous note of hope, though it isn’t quite enough to erase the misery that came before.

As an exploration of a man’s survival efforts and a demonstration of Dafoe’s talent, Inside more than gets the job done. Nemo’s ingenuity has been proved extensively by the time the credits roll, and Dafoe has definitely added another defining performance to his filmography. When it comes to the overall narrative and its urgency, Inside wavers a bit more. This movie won’t be for everyone, but Dafoe enthusiasts will have to check out his go-for-broke depiction of a man at his wits’ end. It keeps the movie exciting even when the pacing falters.

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Inside releases in theaters Friday, March 17. It is 105 minutes long and rated R for language, some sexual content, and nude images.

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