|
"Two People
Choosing Their Words
Very Carefully..." |
 |
Directed by Spike Lee -
Written by Russell
Gewirtz
Starring Denzel
Washington, Clive Owen,
Jodie Foster, Kim
Director
Samantha Ivers,
Christopher Plummer,
Chiwetel Ejiofor, Willem
Dafoe
Distributed by Universal -
2006 - 129m - Rated PG13 |
| |
|
Have you ever heard someone play the first seven notes of a piano
scale... and then stop? It's irritating isn't it? |
| |
Spike Lee's "Inside
Man" is like a spectacular flash of lightning and the moments
immediately after when you are waiting for a thunderous boom... and
you wait, and wait, and wait, only to realize that it's not coming.
One could safely describe this film as the anatomy of a perfect
heist... A bank robbery so perfectly planned that it almost reeks of
being too good to be possible. It is the set-up, the execution, the
police response, the interplay between the two, the sub-plots and
typical Spike Lee touches that make this film one of the finest
three-quarters of a film this year. It is just that darn final act
which fizzles in comparison to the electric build-up.
Clive Owen is rigidly organized and controlled as the mastermind of
this bank robbing team. The plan seems simple enough... Dress the team
as painters, enter a Manhattan bank branch, overpower the patrons and
employees and take the loot. Right? Wrong. It's never that easy,
otherwise they wouldn't have made a film about it.
Once inside, the cops swarm the exterior, led by the 1950's
film-noir-styled detective played with debonair cool and muffled
intensity by Denzel Washington. He is an ambitious cop with legal
troubles of his own and he knows that this hostage negotiation could
be his big break.
Christopher Plummer plays the founder and CEO of the bank in question.
He is under extreme duress when hearing of the heist because of some
very secretive safety deposit box contents that could damage his
reputation. He hires Jodie Foster's Madeleine White, a facilitator of
solutions to such problems.
The story unfolds in ways that would be unfair of me to divulge to
first time viewers. Needless to say, there is a David Mamet like
complexity to the proceedings that allows for twists and turns and
misdirection.
The cast is stellar. Washington, Owen and Foster are all in fine form,
each delivering a character with wit and insight and each possessing a
different kind of power. There is confidence brimming over in this
cast. No one feels out of place. The supporting cast is also
very strong... With an especially memorable and feisty performance
from Samantha Ivers as the girl on the cell phone. Look for her
in the near future!
What is absolutely brilliant about this film is the way in which Spike
Lee manages to build the film to such a crescendo using a very
familiar formula. One of the characters even references the classic
seventies flick, "Dog Day Afternoon". Lee manages to craft virtually
everything for the first ninety minutes to perfection. No detail or
plot hole is left to bother us. The viewer is crystal clear what is
happening and we get a good sense of where every character resides
during this stand-off.
The only thing we don't know is how the film is going to resolve
itself. Unfortunately, it is at that point that we start to realize
that Spike Lee may have the same problem. I will not give anything
away in regards to the plot, but I will say that the final act is
untidy and unsatisfying considering the meticulousness of the
build-up.
I want to stress that I am absolutely not clamoring for a typical
Hollywood ending here. A shoot-out would not be the way to end such
crafty thriller. What is needed is a crisp re-write to clarify the
positions of all involved... especially the Jodie Foster character.
I felt like I was waiting for that chill-down-my-spine moment that
never came. The big reveal. Instead, the film felt slightly
anticlimactic and predetermined... Like there was nothing at stake all
along. I am giving the film a strong grade in spite of that final fade
because it had the makings of one of the best films of the year up
until that point. |
| |
|
© Written by TC Candler -
Email Me! |
Richard
Propes' Comment
n/a
Jacob
Hall's Comment
n/a
|
