Acclaimed director Spike Lee has offered up a double-entrée of crime and cultural commentary in his latest film, Inside Man. Lee wows audiences with a surprisingly human and thrilling robbery setup while keeping them thinking with the unanswered moral questions the film raises.
Inside Man's premise presents robbery mastermind Dalton Russel (Clive Owen) holding all the cards in a tense hostage standoff with police negotiator Keith Frazier (Denzel Washington). Russel and Frazier's negotiations are complicated when Madaline White (Jodie Foster), a for-hire free agent, arrives on the scene. She's being paid to keep the contents of one of the safety deposit boxes a secret at all costs. The box belongs to her current employer, aging banking executive Arthur Case (Christopher Plummer), a widely acclaimed humanitarian who would prefer his past remain censored according to his wishes. As the drama unfolds, the moral lines between criminal and hero are blurred, and almost every party seems two-sided by the time the credits roll.
Washington's portrayal of detective Frazier makes his character extremely likable -- both conversational and even a little humorous but entirely serious about his job and all too wary of the pressure he's under. Foster's power-broking femme is oily and sly, getting under the viewer's skin. Owen's performance is perhaps the hardest to judge, as he spends much of the film masked and hooded to play his part, but his dialogue is loaded with tension and resolve.
The heist, of course, is the meat of the film and it's a doozy. The action flows like clockwork and, at times, seems a little implausible. Thanks to Washington and Owen, the film's premise doesn't wind up seeming fake; the actors inject enough life into the situation that the result rarely appears mechanical. Lee's use of flash-forwards to help acquaint the audience with the victims of the robbery also adds another level of realism to the screenplay and further sets up the viewer for a characteristic twist at the finish of the film. Suffice it to say that the ending, the crux of any heist movie, does not disappoint.
If there was a place for the film to fall flat, it would have been in the social commentary integrated into the script. Some of the moments do feel a little forced, such as when Owen borrows a Playstation Portable from a kid caught in the heist and comments on video game violence. Others, such as one Middle-Eastern bank employee venting his frustration at the treatment he's been given since 9/11, are genuine and well-done. The end of the film, however, leaves no absolute morality for any of the main characters. The ending leaves viewers wondering where the line between good and evil should be drawn or if it can be drawn at all.
Inside Man proves an enjoyable outing if you come to see it for the thriller heist aspects or the quality dramatic performances directed by a modern master. It might be best described as somewhere between The Boondock Saints and Ocean's Eleven, with less of the former's violence and less of the latter's romance. Good enough for a popcorn flick, but smart enough to steal an Oscar nomination, Spike Lee has proved his versatility and skill again, bringing back a winner with Inside Man.
Read More
The best albums of 2014
By Noah Zeidman | December 4, 2014Across genres, it has been a pretty great year in music.
Top 10 movies of 2014
December 4, 2014This has been an excellent year for film, offering everything from gripping blockbusters to innovative personal films.
Iggy Azalea is “Reclassified”
December 4, 2014It has become common practice among music artists to repackage their albums in an effort to simultaneously boost single sales and dish out new content by slightly renaming the album or slapping “Deluxe” onto the title.
