Spike Lee masterminds Inside Man

By Paul Tsikitas
Collegian Editor
March 29, 2006

Trailers are deceiving. When I first saw the trailer for the latest Spike Lee joint, I was somewhat disheartened by its look. The commercials make Inside Man look like your average rip-off of every other heist film that has ever come down the pike. What I should have known was that when you take an average idea and throw Spike Lee into the fold, something good is bound to happen. Inside Man takes a heist and makes it something you wouldn’t expect from the trailers.

The heist starts right after the credits role and the suspense begins. Clive Owen plays Dalton Russell, the leader of the robbers who put together the most complicated heist ever. The heist quickly turns into a hostage crisis and immediately the cops, S.W.A.T. team and hostage negotiators surround the bank and begin the usual ropes of taking care of a hostile situation.

Enter Detective Keith Frazier (Denzel Washington), your usual tough-as-nails New York City cop. He is called in to be the head hostage negotiator. As things start to unravel, both Detective Frazier, his partner Detective Bill Mitchell (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Captain John Darius (Willem Defoe) start to find something strange about the heist.

To complicate the situation, bank owner Arthur Case (Christopher Plummer) becomes concerned with a safe deposit box in the bank and hires Madeline White (Jodie Foster), a sly, sophisticated Wall Street broker to use her powers of persuasion to get the contents of the box.

The story reels into confusion and a twisting web of lies, deceit, greed and a surprising undertone of social commentary a la Spike Lee. The story is so convoluted and intricate that it sucks the viewer into its vortex.

First-time writer Russell Gewirtz spins the story’s web into near perfection, which is utterly impressive for anyone’s first script. With Lee behind the lens, tension grows not only from the exposition, but from the camera. The frantic spinning shots and constant motion show a situation that reels towards chaos, yet is under complete control at the same time.

These aspects, plus phenomenal performances all around, make Inside Man transcend the idea of a heist film. The main difference is the idea of greed and the social commentaries made. Since it takes place in New York, you can still see post-9/11 fears when races are mixed and tension is intensified in a potentially dangerous situation. Also, the idea of “selling your soul” is present, with money and power being the driving forces behind almost every character.

As usual, Washington plays his role cool, smart and convincing. His knack for playing a tough cop with a sense of humor and a big intellect pass across the screen for another convincing role for him. Owen, however, steals the screen as the utterly ferocious yet calm and collected Dalton. The two together have a chemistry that is almost too hard to describe.

Although the movie is solid all around, there are a few pitfalls to the film. It isn’t the greatest in Lee’s arsenal, but that is due to its commercial feel. There are a few plot holes that make some of it a little too hard to believe, but this doesn’t ruin the intriguing storyline.

Also, there are a lot of build-up scenes and dialogue that may turn the casual moviegoer away, making them think the film is boring, but these scenes are utterly crucial. This is where bad marketing comes in.

Overall, Inside Man is a great cinematic experience. The commercials make it seem ordinary, but it takes on issues you don’t usually see approached by a genre usually targeted for a thrill ride. This is one of Lee’s most divergent career choices, but this is not a bad thing. This shows that the artist can make something more mainstream and still keep the credibility of the artistic style we are used to seeing him take on.

tsikitp1@lasalle.edu