Tanya Batson-Savage, Freelance Writer
Savvy detective, Keith Frazier (Denzel Washington), and Madeline White (Jodie Foster), a power broker with a hidden agenda, match wits in the movie 'Inside Man'. - CONTRIBUTED
WHEN YOU combine good direction, good acting, an intriguing plot and good camera work, the result is a film that is worth the money you spend to get in the theatre and, more importantly, the time you take to go to the theatre. The Inside Man is one such movie. Indeed, it is worth seeing more than once.
The Inside Man is a thoroughly enjoyable film from any direction you tackle it. At its heart it is a caper film, but it does more than enough to distinguish itself from the recently successful Ocean's 11 and 12 and The Italian Job, so that it does not feel like you have seen it before. What it shares in common with the three films named is very slick camera work and direction, as the plot eases forward like a grease man through a window.
The Inside Man is directed by Spike Lee and written by Russel Gewirtz. Interestingly, though the film seems far less political than most of Lee's works, The Inside Man does at least make a passing poke in the eye of big business, linking wanton commercialism, which is usually seen as the grease that runs America's democracy with one of the world's major travesties.
SHARP, WITTY PLOT
The key to a good caper movie is to have a plot that keeps you guessing and keeps you intrigued in both what is happening and in the characters themselves. It is usually particularly important that the thieves endear themselves to us so that we feel OK with their escaping with the loot. The Inside Man works with a sharp, witty plot, and the characters, good and evil, are easily engaging. Furthermore, as the story is told in the present and with flash forwards, it gets even more interesting.
The Inside Man surrounds a bank robbery being orchestrated by Dalton Russell (Clive Owen). Unlike most caper movies, we aren't introduced to this team of robbers so that figuring out who they are is a part of the fun. Denzel Washington plays Detective Keith Frazier, whose job it is to talk down Russell as the robbery escalates into a hostage situation. Though this means that Washington is once again a policeman, this role provides enough for him to sink his teeth in without fear of familiarity.
NO OVERKILL
Some films become so bloated with star power that it becomes a parade of faces rather than a film. Though The Inside Man is pregnant with powerful actors, it does not near overkill, and even when the roles are reasonably small roles, the actors selected are some of those who are usually great even when they just show up, and here, they do more than just turn up.
As such, the presence of Jodie Foster, who plays Madeline White, is a wonderful bonus. White is the essential creature of the urban jungle. She gets the poison of your desire as long you can pay for it, without hesitation of conscience. Exhibiting a sharp callousness, White is magnificently evil. Christopher Plummer (Arthur Case) and Willem Dafoe (Captain John Darius) take on supplementary roles and highlight that there is no such thing as a small role.
