Willem Dafoeis an actor who’s now been on both sides of a quality heist, first in a film ironically titledInside Man(2006) as a police captain charged with uprooting dangerous bank robbers from a New York bank. This time, however, he’s the robber who becomes the victim of his undoing. PerFocus Features' social media, the official promo poster for Dafoe’s new psychological thriller,Inside(2023), has been released, giving audiences a fresh, polished look at his character’s unique predicament.
The premise ofInsidecenters upon Dafoe’s character Nemo, a high-end art thief seeking out the rarest pieces. While he and his partners try to pull off their most recent heist in an ultra-luxury New York penthouse filled to the brim with priceless art, the alarms trip, and Nemo is quickly trapped inside with no way out as his comrades abandon him. As days and what seems like weeks pass, Nemo struggles to find a way out of the home lined with every top-of-the-line security tech possible, but his efforts prove futile. As anxiety, hunger, and dehydration take over, Nemo gradually spirals into madness, with the inside of his mind becoming as dangerous as the penthouse that’s ensnared him.
The poster above shows Nemo, clearly disheveled and not of sound mind, pondering his demise while noticeably floating on top of the water in an indoor pool. This detail likely alludes to his loss of sanity. Near the top also is the film’s induction into this year’s Berlinale festival, which has already been getting immense hype from its influx of nearly 400 film entries and extensive lineup of Hollywood actors and directors.Insideis the directorial debut of Vasilis Katsoupis and is set to release in theaters on March 17.
Related:Inside Trailer Breakdown: Willem Dafoe is a Trapped Art Thief Spiraling Into Madness
Willem Dafoe’s Lifetime Ambition as a Purveyor of Art
Dafoe’s life in the acting world has left nothing short of a historic and lasting impact. Along with his incredible, decades-long filmography that’s earned him countless accolades across the board, his early years in acting were especially inspiring. After studying drama briefly at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Dafoe shifted his sights to experimental theater at Theater X, also in Milwaukee.
Later in 1976, he moved to New York City and truly got his start in the avant-garde theater troupe The Performance Group. There he would hone his craft, turning him into one of thisgeneration’s most unique and captivating actors. He and fellow acting partner Elizabeth LeCompte grew close and ultimately took over the company, renaming it the Wooster Group. Dafoe would stay there well into the 2000s while LeCompte was the theater director. To this day, the Wooster Group remains in its original home in SoHo, known as The Performing Garage.
