Berlinale 2023: Inside
Berlinale 2023The premise of Inside is an enticing one: who would not want to watch a movie in which Willem Dafoe plays a thief who gets trapped inside an apartment filled with pricey works of art? Vasilis Katsoupis’s fiction debut is definitely very intriguing, adding a new entry to the beloved subgenre of “one-man films of someone stuck inside” (which includes Buried and 127 Hours). Unfortunately, Inside is a rare example of a film that is too ambitious for its own good, and because it aims too high it ends up having a dramatic fall.
At first, Inside is a rather impressive film: the apartment is an impressive set, from the carefully curated paintings and sculptures scattered throughout (drawings from Egon Schiele are prominently featured throughout) to the exquisitely modern design of the furniture and rooms. A lot of work went into making this place feel as lived in as possible, and its deterioration and destruction as Dafoe tries to escape are beautifully brought to life, also thanks to stylish cinematography (a shot of the thief pulling a table while the camera is placed on stop particularly stands out). The initial panic of the protagonist and very rational thought process made for a very engaging first half, where most of the entertainment stems to see how he can survive with access to water and electricity being cut off.
As expected, Dafoe delivers a very solid performance, which is an actor’s wet dream: over 90 minutes of pure acting. It is one of his most physically demanding turns as well, and he manages to inject his trademark manic stare and maniacal laughter to great comedic effect. A running gag with a fridge that plays “Macarena” by Los Del Rio is an especially memorable aspect of the narrative.
Where the film loses its way is in its goal. On the surface, Inside could be a very entertaining thriller, nothing more, nothing less. Sadly, that is not the case, as Katsoupis and screenwriter Ben Hopkins have much loftier ambitions: part of the thief’s backstory is that he is an artist, and in the second half of the movie, when he starts to lose touch with reality, a mess of ideas and themes about artistic expression and the intent of art are introduced. With this being a Covid-19 production, there are clear parallels to what the world lived through for the better part of two years, with art (including books, films, music, and games) being the only outlet to prevent society from falling apart. However, this is explored in such an unimaginative and banal way, with Dafoe literally spelling out the final thesis of the film via voice-over narration, that it becomes clear that Katsoupis is more confident with visual storytelling than narrative one.
Inside does deliver memorable thrills and yet another standout performance by Willem Dafoe, but in the end, it feels like the filmmakers were ashamed of this being just a very good genre film and bluntly forced certain themes into it. It overstays its welcome and it leaves the viewer feeling hollow, arguably the biggest crime that a work of art can commit.