Inside ManDirected by Spike Lee
Starring Denzel Washington, Clive Owen, Jodie Foster, Willem Dafoe, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Christopher Plummer
My name is TMY. Pay strict attention to what I say because I choose my words carefully and I never repeat myself. Recently I watched Inside Man to see Dayton Russell (Clive Owen) plan and set in motion events that execute the perfect bank robbery. Why? Because he can.
Okay, the above line is paraphrased on the opening lines of the movie.
There's nothing like a good Spike Lee movie. When all else fails, in terms of box office receipts (for those of you blur cases, USA box office has been undergoing an almost 2 year slump thanks to big budget movies being kicked around by low budget indi films. Might write about that one day), I can always count on Spike to deliver.
The art of handling a phone conversation, by Clive OwenAlso the man who brought us
Malcolm X and
25th Hour (which is a VERY good movie, watch it!), Spike Lee delivers a knockout film with Inside Man. That being said, a word of caution is necessary. Inside Man is nothing like his other films. It is not as controversial, not as ambigious, and not as thought provoking. It's quite mainstream, but mainstream in a highly entertaining way, with excellent performances all around.
Dayton Russell (Clive Owen) robs a bank with a few of his kahoots and holds everyone in it hostage. The negotiator, Keith Frazier (Denzel Washington) and the rest of the world of policemen, try to negotiate a deal with Russell. In the meantime, subplots unfold when the mytestious but powerful Madeline White (Jodie Foster) interferes and pulls some strings both with the cops and with the crooks. So what's really going on between these three entities? That's all the show is about. Needless to say, all three leading actors are top notch. There are only a few scenes where two of these characters interact, but when they do, the scene will stick your head more than the gun totting sequences. (There's only one actual scene where Russell and Frazier meet, and that is easily the best moment in the film)
Ms.White and Mr.Case (Christopher Plummer) discussing termsOne aspect of the film that really intrigued me (and irritated me as well) is that Spike Lee chose to carry the film through in an atmosphere of 1960's film noir set in the modern day. The music, which instantly reminded me of L.A. Confidential, blows their glorious hero-istic trumpets every single time the cops make a move. It's not even suspense!!! Then the whole thing about dark corners, shadows, mystery, intrigue, and the dangerous female all come into play. We've had some heavily film noir inspired films of late, ala Sin City, but Inside Man is more traditional, in a modern way. Ha.
Frazier (Washington) and Russell (Owen) talk loveThe entire concept of the film is brilliant. When you think you've seen all the heist movies to not be surprised anymore, you'll be surprised at how clever Inside Man really is. Yeah, sometimes the scenes get choppy when it mashes up with different storylines, and yeah the more delicate sub plots are sometimes a tad tedious. But the heist is everything. And Spike Lee being Spike Lee, there are of course moments where he fins opportunities to insert minor movielistic preachings of social issues, such as the disrespect the Americans have for Asians, the danger of video games and how it influences people (For video gamers, there's a 2 minute sequence where you get a PC game flashed on the cinema! How cool is that!)
So do watch it. It's not perfect, but hey it's making more money than V for Vendetta at the box office, so it must mean something (since by the traditional nature of films, Inside Man isn't the sort of box office kick-butt films).
If anything, watch it for the bit where Dayton Russell talks about romance. Some life principles there worth remembering.
B+
Pay strict attention to what I say because I choose my words carefully and I never repeat myself. - Dayton Russell
