Plot, Cast, Crew & Everything Else We Know The Talks Today
Willem Dafoe stars as Nemo, a highly skilled cat burglar specializing in high-end art theft. With a minimal cast and budget, sophomore director Vasilis Katsoupis (My Friend Larry Gus) sets out to explore the meaning and price of art in the new psychological thriller Inside. The film is about a heist gone wrong on its surface but delves deeper into the psyche of master thief Nemo as he contends with being trapped in his posh high-tech prison. The audience watches as Dafoe’s character realizes his latest score has become his mausoleum.
Star Willem Dafoe is no stranger to this type of material, as he has chronicled a character’s descent into madness in big-budget spectacles and indie darlings alike. Audiences have come to take for granted the level of realism and intensity he brings to each role. Director Vasilis Katsoupis capitalizes on both his film’s star and its setting. We expect the tension to build to unbearable levels as Nemo becomes more primal in his attempt to survive.
The Plot
Willem Dafoe plays Nemo, a high-end cat burglar specializing in stealing priceless art. He and his crew have set their sights on their latest score, an extremely valuable art collection locked within the confines of a high-tech Manhattan high-rise. The caper is typical for this crew, high risk, high reward. Once the penthouse is unoccupied, the plan is to gain entry, gather the art, and egress with the goods.
An alarm gets triggered, and the job is blown. Now the objective has changed from heist to escape. The high-tech apartment, all glass, sharp angles, and chrome, transforms into a prison, one giant panic room in a matter of moments right before the eyes of an astonished Nemo. His crew quickly informs him it is now every man for himself, and Nemo is on his own. Before the audience can catch their breath, the film transforms from a heist film to a tense psychological thriller. What follows is a tour de force performance from Dafoe as his thief Nemo has to use every ounce of his skill and discipline to stay alive. But, much to the credit of director Katsoupis, the tension never lets up.
Inside: Cast & Crew
Willem Dafoe stars as Nemo, the inside man on a high-end art burglary crew. As the trailer suggests, this is pretty much a one-man show, but there are some key supporting roles. Vincent Eaton (S, A House in the Hills) plays Number 2, and Andrew Blumenthal (Moonwalkers, The Crossing) plays Number 3 to round out the burglary crew. In addition, the owner of the penthouse is played by Belgian actor Gene Berovets (The Vanishing, The Memory of a Killer), and Ana Von Voight portrays his daughter in her film debut.
The film marks the second directorial effort by Vasilis Katsoupis, who came up with the story of the thief imprisoned surrounded by priceless art that slowly loses its value but never its meaning. Inside was written by Ben Hopkins, best known for his work on In Search of Monsters and Marionette. Landing an actor of Willem Dafoe’s caliber is a real coup for those involved in the production. It will give a significant boost to those involved as positive reviews have been pouring in, not just about Dafoe’s performance but the excellent writing and deft direction of the picture. Word of mouth should put this film in front of a large audience, as the desire to see more adult-oriented psychological thrillers has grown quite a bit over the last decade.
Release Date
Audiences don’t have to wait long to see Inside, as it’s slated for release in theaters on Mar.17.
Everything Else We Know
The real star of the show, of course, is Willem Dafoe. He has been nominated for Academy Awards for his supporting work in the films Platoon, Shadow of the Vampire, and The Florida Project. He also received a nod for best actor for his role in At Eternity’s Gate. Still, one can find Dafoe on a list of underrated actors in Hollywood. His character Nemo is reminiscent of another meticulous criminal Dafoe played, the villain in William Friedkin’s 1985 crime masterpiece To Live and Die in LA, counterfeiter and stone-cold killer Rick Masters.
The similarities between the two are striking. Nemo, here the protagonist, and Masters, the villain in To Live and Die in LA, both hover on the periphery of the art world, admiring the beauty and value but never satisfied with creating, only taking what they can when they can. Both men love art but love money more, and it is the internal conflict that rages within that gives a whole other meaning to the film Inside.