Inside
While trying to steal a $3m painting from a high rise penthouse, an art thief finds himself trapped in the apartment when the security system fails. With no means of escape, limited resources, like gas to cook or water to drink, and a malfunctioning heating unit – he must plan an escape.
Direction
This is the directorial debut for Vasilis Katsoupis, and I quite liked what he did with the film. It starts with an almost picturesque look at a the flawless apartment (that does not stay that way).
Throughout the film as the weeks and seemingly months go by as ‘Nemo’ is trapped inside the apartment, there is more and more graphic imagery as he must locate food sources within the apartment; animals around him die, and where he must dispose of his own ‘waste’.
He does good use of camera work, especially up close shots of Nemo and his activities.
Cast/Characters
Willem Dafoe is the sole cast member aside from some characters who appear briefly in either ‘flashbacks’ or hallucinations.
He does a brilliant job, and it takes a tremendously talented actor to be able to be the only one on screen for an entire film.
Screenplay/Setting/Themes
The entire movie has a television ‘bottle episode’ feel to it due to its one location setting, and it also had an almost ‘Cast Away’ feel to it with the one man trying to escape from that location theme.
Due to Dafoe being the only cast member, the screenplay needed to be sharp and refined, and I felt like it was. There was little dialogue at times, other than when he is talking to himself – or to the television as he watched the CCTV and ‘falls in love’ with the cleaner he sees on screen.
Nemo’s engineering skills are second to none, with his idea of escape. His creation of ‘sunglasses’ too is ingenious.
There is also some slight comedy with the use of ‘Macarena’ being the annoying song that plays as the fridge door is opened too long.
At 102m it is a tad too long, and probably could have been shaved by about 10-15 minutes.
There are a few unanswered questions, such if the ‘flashback’ was a flashback or a dream, and if Jasmine was actually known to him before he found himself trapped.
… and just how long are the owners of the apartment gone for? Considering there is MILLIONS of dollars worth of art in the apartment, did none of the security systems actually work???
Score/Soundtrack
Subtle for the most parts, most of the time the film focus’ on diegetic sound, however as Nemo plans is more unique. As his madness intensifies during the third act, and during his flashback/dream sequences it gets more dramatic and cinematic.
Overall
I really liked this, and thought Dafoe did a great job. It has similar themes to Cast Away – but just in a different location. Despite some minor flaws in logic, I give this one a recommend.
4/5