Inside Man Review by Clint Morris
Naturally, Spike Lee’s joint is once
again jumpin’ – but this time, we can expect a few new
invited guests, a couple of surprise party tricks and some rather
lethal punch. Yep, the self-proclaimed king of African-American cinema has decided to pull a Match Point – I’m hoping that one takes on a life of it’s own, as the Jumping the Shark phrase did – and picked up a radically-different box to think out of. If Do the Right Thing and Malcolm X were Twinkies, then Inside Man
is an Apple – just as tasty, but consumable by a much wider-crowd
(those on diets, diabetics, the lactose intolerant…. the list
goes on, but since we’re only using the notion to paint a
picture, there’s really no reason to). To many, this might very
well be their first ‘Spike Lee’ film. And though our
director still stands up on the box and rants – though his
political messages and racial proclamations are hidden deep beneath the
commercialism of the film – Lee’s latest seems much more
occupied in purely entertaining an audience, than preaching to them. A
welcome virgin to the Multiplex he is too. In a nutshell: Clive
Owen is the ringleader of a bunch of bank-robbers that have decided to
rob, of all financial institutions, the Chase Manhattan Bank in Wall
Street. Denzel Washington is the detective who is assigned to the case
when our rogue takes hostages. Jodie Foster is a cold-as-winter
spin-doctor of sorts, someone in bed with the Mayor (though not
literally), who helps keep the skeletons in the closet of many a
millionaire. How is the charming thief going to pull off the
‘perfect’ heist? (And we know it will be, because he tells
us that at the start of the film), how is Washington’s
law-enforcer going to take him down? How unscrupulous will
Foster’s character be? And what have the filmmakers got planned
for co-star Christopher Plummer? (He’s too good, not to be in it
for a reason). As you can assume from the synopsis, it is an
all-round appealing thriller, but it wouldn’t be a Spike Lee film
(or ‘Joint’ as he likes to call his movies) if there
weren’t a message here, would it? Well, there is.
There’s statements on race, religion, the law, the persuasive
nature of money…. but thankfully, they take nothing away from
the film, in fact, simply adding further appeal to a film that’s
roofed in credibility and class. A point might just be what it needed
to push it above being your typically “fun, but forgettable
popcorn thriller”. Typically, film critics see movies for
free. We watch them at media screening - special screenings that are
set-up for journalists to catch the film before its release – and
if we don’t get to it, we usually miss out. I missed the
screening for this one. Now usually, I’d just be done with it and
forget about it – wait for the video, in most cases. But never
had a film been so worthy of shelling out money for. After all –
look at that cast! There was no way I was missing this. And you know
what? Best fifteen bucks I’ve spent in a long time. Truly. This
has got to be one of the smartest and funnest heist films to come along
since, well, the likes of The Usual Suspects or even further back, Dog Day Afternoon.
They don’t come along too often, so shredding a few digits from
this weeks wage is nothing – especially when entertainment comes
this grand. (Paying for a ticket to Big Momma’s House 2 though, sorry ed, there was just no way I was going to do that. Not even if I got a discount on a large coke). Everything about Inside Man
is near watertight – well, Foster’s character could have
been explained a bit more, and there’s a couple of things that
weren’t properly explained - the performances, the comprehensive
screenplay, the exhilarating direction, the efficient cinematography,
the pay-off. I’m betting you’ll feel it was money well
spent too. 3 out of 5
Inside Man
Australian release: 30th March, 2006.
Cast: Denzel Washington, Clive Owen, Jodie Foster, Willem Dafoe, Chiwetel Ejiofor
Director: Spike Lee
Website:
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