The Diva's review of
Inside Man (2006)

Rated R; running time of 2 hour and 10 minutes
Genre: Drama
Written by: Russell Gewirtz
Directed by: Spike Lee
Cast: Denzel Washington, Clive Owen, Jodie Foster, Christopher Plummer, Willem Dafoe, Chiwetel Ejiofor

WARNING - SPOILERS BELOW

The Digest

A gang of 4 robbers, led by Dalton Russell, break into a downtown Manhattan bank taking all patrons and employees hostage. Much to their chagrin a police officer is walking by at the time and so the police are immediately called. Assigned to the case is hostage negotiator Detective Keith Frazier (Denzel Washington )and his partner Bill Mitchell (Chiwetel Ejiofor). A scandal involving money surrounds Detective Frazier, who claims to innocent, so this is a chance to earn back trust and clean up his reputation. It is this that fuels him to leave no stone unturned.

But this also worries the impatient Captain Darius (Willem Dafoe) who does not trust in Frazier’s ability and just wants to storm the bank and get it over with. But Frazier pushes back on that idea. Something just isn’t right. They are making odd demands and seem to know the bank and police procedure a little too well. To further complicate matters, the CEO of the bank, Arthur Case (Christopher Plummer), has hired Madeline White (Jodi Foster) to secure something invaluable to him that he is storing in the bank. No one really knows what Madeline’s official job is other than she deals in making favors and claiming them – all from high powered people. Such is her influence, she can command that the mayor give raises and allow her in classified areas.

Despite all of these distractions, Frazier is still able to focus on the task at hand and something just doesn’t seem right. He feels that the robbers are much more cunning than they would appear to be and not all is as it appears.

Will Frazier be able to peel back all the layers of this crime and solve it or are there just too many forces working against him?

The Dish

I really enjoyed myself while watching this movie. It was weird for me watching a crime drama that was so humorous. I felt guilty about laughing, but that is the way it was planned. Humor was smartly used to cut the tension. This movie reminded me of “Dog Day Afternoon” with a little tiny bit of “Serpico” mixed in. Even the way in which it was shot harkened back to a gritty 1970s crime movies.

Denzel as usual can be relied upon to turn in a strong performance. But by far I was most impressed with Jodi Foster as I’ve never seen her like this. I’m also wholly impressed with Chiwetel. I am becoming his biggest fan by far.

The storyline was fresh and different than the standard fare even if sometimes it was trying so hard to keep the viewer off balance that it fell victim to itself. It also tried to weave a story the way “The Usual Suspects” was presented and it didn’t quite make it Nonetheless I did very much enjoy the movie and its fallible characters.

The story was set up in such a way to give a hint of a sequel. I certainly look forward to the next caper involving Frazier and Mitchell.

The Directive

Insideman is smart and funny and a movie for grown folks. You know what I mean? Not that it is obviously rated R, but rather it’s a movie about adults, starring adults and written by adults. It’s not some silly little teen comedy.

You want the inside scoop? It’s pretty damn good.

back to top

Copyright Kamal "The Diva" Larsuel-Ulbricht, 2006
EMAIL: thediva@3blackchicks.com
ICQ: 8690410
http://www.3blackchicks.com/

Use the feedback form below to send your comments to The Diva