INSIDE: Willem Dafoe’s Slow Spiral Into Madness

You’re telling me that Willem Dafoe is an art thief who gets trapped inside a multimillion-dollar penthouse while trying to get the score of his career and over the course of 90 minutes slowly loses his mind? Okay, you don’t have to twist my arm, I’m in. It’s a simple premise that runs the risk of completely losing our interest and perhaps in the hands of another actor would fall flat but with Dafoe front and center, every second was captivating. It forced us to want to see what would happen next.

The film begins with an opening monologue that asks the age-old question, “If you were faced with a house fire, what are the three things that you would save?” A simple enough question but Dafoe‘s answers were very telling of the kind of person that character is, none of them involved saving a loved one or family member. All of them were selfish things for selfish reasons leaving the character room to grow. After a very well-written speech (the film was written by Ben Hopkins from a story by Vasilis Katsoupis) we find Dafoe, robbery already in progress, stalking around the penthouse looking for priceless pieces to steal. Of course, this doesn’t go according to plan and the safety system takes over, locking down the entire level and leaving our friend and humble narrator trapped.

After a brief meltdown and a little bit of pleading with the man on the other end of the walkie-talkie (who we only know by the name of Number Three), Dafoe decides to calm down and temporarily accept his fate. He obviously hasn’t given up but he’s going to need to clear his head if he’s going to find a way out. And what does one do when they find themselves trapped in a strange place? Go through all the cabinets and drawers, raid the fridge (that for some reason always plays the Macarena when the door is open too long), and see what might be on TV of course. Those are the necessary steps to escape. Take stock of what is available.

Time Is A Decomposing Pigeon

This movie was beautifully shot with the tone set early on by the director Vasilis Katsoupis. It hardly ever leaves the penthouse giving us the feeling of being trapped inside with Dafoe (at least he isn’t in it alone after Number Three bailed on him). We get to see him going about his business, day in and day out, all while trying to find ways to escape. How he gets food and water, how he sleeps, and even how he tries to keep himself entertained were carefully thought out and shown to us, leaving nothing to question or chance. The pigeon was introduced quickly so that we have a way of marking time. There are no calendar cutaways, no title card that comes up saying, “Day 25,” or something. A simple dead pigeon on the patio that slowly decomposes as the film progresses told us all we needed to know.

Speaking of jobs well done, Dafoe absolutely puts on a masterclass in this film. Probably nobody expected anything any different but the way he kept me on the edge of my seat, how I hung on his every word because what he was saying was important was a lesson in demanding the audience’s attention. Like the bulk of his work, it’s hard to ignore him and he deserves some kind of recognition for this role. He didn’t undersell or even overact, Dafoe somehow kept this right in the pocket even with the strange situation he found himself in. This is nothing new, the man is a genius.

The music in this movie was also something I found that helped tell the story. Frederik van de Moortel was in charge of the music and score in the film and it evolved with the story. Starting out with some fun and lighthearted tunes in the first act and slowly becoming more tense and chaotic as the situation in the penthouse escalated, it was really the perfect compliment to what was happening on screen. Also, again, the Macarena. Alright?

The Tower Of Rubble

After trying literally every other way possible to escape Dafoe determines that the only way out is up. A skylight nearly forty feet above his head is the key to his salvation, there’s a huge problem with that though and that is reaching it. Luckily for us and for him, he’s a bit crafty, and with tables and chairs and whatever else he finds lying around he constructs a giant unstable tower of rubble. This film does a great job of when a scene is over not saying, “and then,” but instead saying, “but.” The tower is a success but the rivets for the skylight pose the next problem. Will he get them out? How? These are questions that you really need to find out for yourself.

Inside was one of those rare gems that I never expect to come across but when I do I like to scream about it from the rooftops. It’s that good. This movie took the trope of a man stuck on a deserted island and replaced the deserted island with a luxury penthouse in Manhattan. It starts out calm enough but everything just keeps building to a cacophony that will either end in salvation or tragedy. Those are the only two options we are left with as the film plays out.

I hadn’t watched a decent phycological thriller in a while and I felt like that was just fine, I had been burnt by my most recent attempts, then this movie came along and renewed my faith in the genre. So if thrillers or character studies or just watching a man’s slow descent into madness for one hundred minutes is your jam, this movie is for you. It has a tremendous cast featuring almost exclusively Willem Dafoe (who you may or may not get to see sing and dance The Macarena) and if those aren’t reasons enough to watch it, then I don’t know what to tell you.

Inside was released on March 17, 2023!

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