A twisty tense heist thriller that will leave you scratching your head

Rating: 8/10 (29 July 2008)

Inside Man is a clever film that fits the bill perfectly for a Saturday evening's entertainment – a complex thriller that, while never too complicated, leaves you on numerous occasions thinking you have a handle on what is happening, only for the film to surprise you again. A classy heist thriller with modern twists, and a stellar leading cast, it keeps you guessing right the way through, which makes it ideal evening viewing, and at almost exactly two hours is probably just the right length. There seems to be hidden depths to all the characters in a multi-layered plot, where as questions are answered, even more are asked. Much discussion will ensue as the credits roll.
Clive Owen plays Dalton Russell, a master criminal who has planned what he believes to be the perfect bank robbery, whilst Denzel Washington is the detective who must resolve the situation, and Jodie Foster is the big shot hard nosed negotiator working for the benefit of 'outside interests'. Supporting this A-list leading group includes Chiwetel Ejiofor (who seemed to be in nearly every film released that year), Willem Dafoe and Christopher Plummer.
The film uses the interesting format of interspersing the main film with brief scenes of witness/suspect interviews in the aftermath, all the while keeping the identities of the robbers concealed (with the exception of Owen, who announces his intentions at the start) so the interviewees could be anyone. What makes the scene more interesting is the complete and very distinct lack of lawyers for the interviewees. This proves to be a rather effective and innovative technique, as are the interesting mix of sympathies. The detectives dealing with the hostage situation and the interviews in the aftermath are not necessarily as warm and heroic as you might expect, in fact almost intimidating, while Foster's power broker and Owen's lead bank-robber are multi-layered, making for much more interesting characters, especially as they are used comparatively sparingly, while Washington's detective fills a large portion of the screen time – fortunately as a top quality actor he is equal to the task, although he does come across as slightly callous and unsympathetic. Denzel's unusual and cold characterisation makes the viewing uncomfortable for the viewer, and certainly alters the viewers sympathies. Meanwhile, Foster is particularly excellent as the ice-cold bitch negotiating on behalf of a third party, while Owen has some strangely effective cold charisma as the lead bank robber. Plummer and Dafoe are given very little to do however, while Ejiofor seems little more than a sycophantic sidekick for Washington, and he contributes nothing – unusual given his strong performances in other films round the same time such as Serenity and Four Brothers.
With the emphasis on slowly-rising tension and very little action as the mast plan of the criminals becomes clear, Inside Man is a gripping tale of how to rob a bank – almost playing as an instruction manual for would-be armed robbers. In addition, what sets the film apart is that far from there being an obvious outcome as is the case with similar films, there seems to be a real feeling that someway, somehow, the robbers might actually get away with it and win. YOu never know what is going to happen. This makes for an incredibly refreshing film. Movie buffs will also love being able to play spot the movie reference – Sudden Impact, Serpico and Dog Day Afternoon are all clearly referenced, almost as if the film is an homage to the great crime and heist movies of the past. Inside Man is also one of few 15-rated films that make use of the c-word.
Overall a gripping heist thriller that will still have you scratching your head as the end credits roll, wondering not only how it happened, but what actually happened as well. A film that definitely warrants repeat viewings - make space on your DVD shelf, as you will want to watch it again.