Inside (2023) Movie Review

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Inside Review: Stuck in a New York Penthouse

Everyone has heard of one-man or one-woman shows. “Inside” was the definition of that. Nemo (Played by Willem Dafoe) was the only character in this film, besides someone sitting at the front desk and someone going up and down in the elevator. Being the only main character in the film probably has a lot of pressure and some might expect Willem Dafoe to crack but he thrived. I can say that “Inside” is something I’ve never seen before and something I want to see more of.

Nemo is a high-end art thief who is planning to rob this New York penthouse seeking a self-portrait worth three billion dollars. When we open the film, everything is seemingly going as planned with no problems arising. Nemo is scouting out all the art he wants to purloin. Unfortunately, he can’t seem to find the self-portrait piece, but that might be the least of Nemo’s worries.

Nemo is in position for the escape when “Number 3” gives him the wrong code over his walkie-talkie for the security system setting off the entire system and locking him into this apartment. This is when the “Stuck in a New York Penthouse” nightmare begins.

My Opinion

So the whole film takes place in a singular penthouse, seeming to be only a few large rooms. I really enjoyed that simple take on the setting. As the film goes on, the setting sort of changes. It becomes dirtier, messed up, and just overall a trainwreck.

What I really noticed from the beginning of this film is how amazing Willem was as Nemo in this film. The acting already started off really incredible and it was hard to think it would continue to escalate, but as the film’s runtime continues, the acting becomes more aggressive and amazing. Being the only main actor in this film, the film’s overall acting was top-tier.

The film continues and as the acting gets more aggressive, the scenes and the plot become more and more disturbing. There are scenes where we see him stack a ginormous stack of furniture up to the ceiling, scenes where he is forced to eat dog food to survive, and piles of human waste. That being said, those scenes are necessary to show what a human will actually do in a life-or-death situation. But be aware, some scenes are disgusting.

What I didn’t like about this film was how repetitive it was getting. The idea of one person stuck in one penthouse is bound to have repetition. There were some points that they could’ve done so much more with instead of getting the same type of scenes every 20 to 30 minutes.