Review: Willem Dafoe commands the screen, as a lone thief trapped in a high-rise, in a solo performance in 'Inside'

Willem Dafoe may be one of the most fascinating actors to ever appear in movies — and that fact is what keeps “Inside” watchable, since Dafoe is practically the only character.

Dafoe plays a master thief — the credits say his name is Nemo, but we never hear it during the film — who has been dropped onto the balcony of a penthouse apartment in a New York high-rise. The quick bit of information we get from the voice on his walkie-talkie (Andrew Blumenthal) is that Nemo has a few minutes to disable the alarm, grab the precious art that’s inside, and punch the code to get out the front door. All goes to plan until that last part, when the exit code doesn’t work and Nemo is left trapped in the apartment, abandoned by his radio accomplice.

The penthouse’s absent tenant (Gene Bervoets, seen mostly in photos) is an architect who turned his home into a fortress, as difficult to get out as it was to get in. He’s away on a project in Kazakhstan, so there’s little food in the fridge and no running water. And the thermostat is on the blink, sometimes sending the temperature from over 100 to the 40s. So Nemo’s challenge is to find a way out while also figuring out how to get water, how not to starve, and how not to freeze or roast to death.

Director Vasili’s Katsoupis and screenwriter Ben Hopkins create a scenario that’s as tight and as solid as the door out of the penthouse. Nemo has moments of discovery, of hope, and of despair when he runs into new obstacles. The script also gives Dafoe’s character, who knows good art when he’s stealing it, room to ruminate on what make art valuable, both monetarily and in the eye of the beholder.

Dafoe jones a short list of actors who can own a movie by themselves. Robert Redford did it brilliantly in “All Is Lost,” and Blake Lively’s work in “The Shallows” was quite effective. In the “alone except for people on the phone” category, there’s Tom Hardy in “Locke” and Ryan Reynolds in “Buried” — and with actors who are alone for part of the movie, there’s Tom Hanks in “Cast Away” and Sandra Bullock in “Gravity.”

Dafoe, with his angular body and eyes always looking for a way out of his cage, is fascinating to examine as his character seeks the answers for his life-or-death dilemma. He’s trapped in “Inside,” but never not in command.

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‘Inside’

★★★

Opening Friday, March 17, at the Broadway Centre Cinemas (Salt Lake City), Century 16 (South Slat Lake) and Megaplex Jordan Commons (Sandy). Rated R for language, some sexual content and nude images. Running time: 105 minutes.