‘Inside’ review: Art thief Willem Dafoe gets locked up by human isolation in COVID-allegorical psychological drama | Berlinale

Vasilis Katsoupis’s debut feature is a claustrophobic psychological drama that features an unbridled Willem Dafoe performance. The Berlinale is the perfect debut platform for a film like Inside as it has the mainstream star power to attract an audience but its intentions remain small and contained to the psychological study of human isolation and its effects. It’s bound to gain traction as it continues its festival run and eventual release, however, it’s possible that general audiences will get lost in its meandering nature.

Inside follows Egon Schiele (Willem Dafoe), a high-end art thief, who is airlifted into a luxury New York apartment which is full of priceless artworks. After collecting as many paintings as possible, Egon runs into trouble as the state-of-the-art security system fails to be disarmed. Trapped inside under strict lockdown protocols, he must survive on the scraps of food left behind by the apartment’s owner as well as scrounge for water in any way he can muster. Egon is panic-stricken as he realises just how high-tech and inescapable the flat is. What follows is a series of isolation-induced events that is accentuated through the film’s New York City backdrop. It’s a city known for its busy streets and freedom, yet all Dafoe’s Egon can do is gaze at its panoramic beauty while being confined within his newfound prison.

The isolation resonates deeply and hits a nerve given the very recent memory of the world-wide COVID lockdowns. Whether intention or not, the psychological effect of the pandemic will undoubtedly echo throughout art for a long time to come. Egon must rely on himself being resourceful enough to survive in a challenging environment, especially because of the lack of nourishment, drinking water and the constantly changing temperatures (a strange but effective security protocol). Although one could question the reality of such a situation, especially his lack of a mobile phone, it’s through Dafoe’s raw and committed performance that the film finds life. Dafoe perfectly embodies his locked-up character through the film’s many close-ups which accentuate his state of mind. Cinematographer Steve Annis’ use of wide shots featuring New York’s vast cityscape contradicts Egon’s solitude, this same isolating wide is repeated many times to showcase the accidental art installation that is slowly built up in an attempt to break through the apartment’s sky-facing windows.

A message that is revisited at the beginning and end is the power of art. But what does Katsoupis want the audience to take away from this? Is it that art is an escape, even for those who are locked away? And that no matter the circumstance, art lives on while things like records can be given away and pets die (Yes, it’s morbid but that’s what Dafoe’s monologue suggests). The answers to such questions are left to the audience to ponder upon, which is one of the film’s great qualities as it provides enough basis to get one’s mind churning. But the film also seems to question luxury and how it can become a psychological prison of sorts. Katsoupis highlights that once a person is engaged in the world of luxury, they are never able to escape. This happens in a very literal sense to Dafoe’s character, who is in the business of stealing luxury pieces of art from rich collectors. Even though he isn’t from the same world as the apartment’s owner, it’s through his own choice to steal art that he finds himself entwined with his captor.

It’s entertaining to see Dafoe invoke elements of Thomas from The Lighthouse here, albeit with a very different kind of isolation. This is definitely a film for those who liked Robert Eggers’ film, though it must be noted that Dafoe isn’t nearly as insane in Inside as he was playing that lighthouse keeper. Egon strips the decked out apartment of all its pieces for tools to assist his escape, gives speeches to himself, obsesses over the people in the live CCTV feed playing on the TV, has regular hallucinations and draws all over the apartment’s walls. These are just a few of the unhinged acts that occur throughout the film. 

Inside is an engaging, if slightly meandering film that has profound psychological meaning. It remains intriguing throughout as one clings on to the hope of Egon’s escape. It’s well-rounded on all fronts, but most importantly Dafoe is superbly convincing. He is put through the ringer as his character is challenged with breaking out of an impenetrable prison, naturally, Egon starts to lose his mind which sees Dafoe being both funny and deadly serious at times. This isolated psychological drama is one to look out for.

Grade: B+

This review is from the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival. Inside will be released in the U.S. on March 17, 2023 by Focus Features.