CNS Movie Review: Inside Man

Inside Man

By David DiCerto
Catholic News Service

NEW YORK (CNS) -- If you're a fan of urban crime dramas from the 1970s, such as "Dog Day Afternoon" or "The Taking of Pelham One Two Three," then Spike Lee's "Inside Man" (Universal) is for you.

With inevitable comparisons to the former, Sidney Lumet's bank heist classic, the film stars Denzel Washington as Keith Frazier, a New York City police detective. Frazier and his partner, Bill Mitchell (Chiwetel Ejiofor), have a dog day, and night, of their own when they match wits with a cunning armed robber, Dalton Russell (Clive Owen), trying to pull off the perfect crime, which may or may not be motivated by the stacks of cash in the Wall Street bank vault.

Frazier is himself being investigated for involvement in a check-cashing scandal that compromises his authority with the SWAT team commander (Willem Dafoe), who favors firepower over negotiation to free the ethnically diverse hostages.

Attempts to defuse the crisis are further complicated by the arrival of an unflappable, and amoral, power broker, Madeline White (an underused Jodie Foster) -- who seems to have City Hall in her pocket -- hired by the bank's avuncular founder, Arthur Case (Christopher Plummer), to make sure an incriminating secret in a safety deposit box stays buried.

Smartly written with nods to "Marathon Man" and "The Usual Suspects" and just the right amount of humor, the film puts an interesting spin on the heist genre, resulting in an intelligent caper that can be enjoyed on several levels.

"Inside Man" is not without flaws. It has too many false endings, and concludes on a morally ambiguous note. Also, Russell is bit of a cipher and the plot elements involving Case's hidden agenda strain plausibility.

For all of that and despite limited locations and action the cat-and-mouse game keeps you engaged.

With its star-powered leads, "Inside Man" is arguably Lee's most mainstream movie to date. But thematically, it is not so much a departure as it is a change of focus -- more story, less soapbox -- as Lee continues to explore race and corruption, managing to comment on everything from racial profiling and stereotypes to greed and the harmful effects of video-game violence.

Though not the most demanding of roles, there is, as always, a lot going on in Washington's performance, as he tries to gain the upper hand. The rest of the cast is also solid, especially Owen, who does most of his acting behind dark glasses and a face mask, and fellow Brit Ejiofor, whose "New Yawk" accent is spot on.

"Inside Man" touches on ethical issues of personal integrity hamstrung by the acquiescence to evil. Can you, as one character asks, "drown your sins in a sea of good works?" (The missing ingredient here seems to be any sincere repentance.) While Lee reserves his harshest moral criticism for wealthy power players like Case (who he suggests is the "real criminal"), he does show that corruption infects all tax brackets. To varying degrees, both Case and Frazier sell their souls, leaving Russell, by default, as the voice of "conscience."

The absence of sex and overt brutality is undercut by an unnecessary stream of obscenities, including a particularly offensive invective directed at White.

Otherwise, though hardly the most provocative of Lee's films, it is certainly among the most entertaining.

The film contains some discreet violence, violent video-game images, pervasive rough and crude language, and a disturbing execution image, as well as some sexual humor, innuendo and racial epithets. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R -- restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

- - -

DiCerto is on the staff of the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

END

Copyright (c) 2006 Catholic News Service/USCCB. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed.
CNS · 3211 Fourth St NE · Washington DC 20017 · 202.541.3250

FIND A MOVIE

   Looking for a
   movie review?
   Click "Movie List"
   button above

   OR

   Enter a keyword
   from the movie
   title in the box
   below and click
   the "Search"
   button.

Classifications
and
ratings?