Breath of Fresh Air

Rating: 10/10 (2 April 2006)

Some may have thought that the bank heist bit had been done to death in movies, and that originality in this plot line was near impossible to attain. Along comes Spike Lee, blasting that thought out the window and dominating the box office with the tricky, slick and highly original "Inside Man".
Dalton Russell (Clive Owen) introduces himself to the audience, instructing us to "pay strict attention", as he proceeds to reveal himself as a bank robber. Cut to the scene of the crime; a New York City bank being robbed by men decked out in paint-gear. With 50 hostages who have been forced to strip down to their underwear and don the exact same outfits, masks and all, as the criminals; hostage negotiators Keith Frazier (Denzel Washington) and Bill Mitchell (Chiwetel Ejiofor) are called in. The bank's owner, Arthur Case (Christopher Plummer) is also very concerned about the heist, but for all the wrong reasons. Mr. Case has something very valuable and very personal in safety deposit box 329 that he does not want anyone seeing. In comes the ambiguous character, Madeline White (Jodie Foster) whose job, it seems, is to do favors for very rich clients. Using the connections she has built up in her unsavory business, White calls in a favor from the Mayor who gives her clearance at the crime scene to be privy to everything that Frazier is privy to  that way she can make sure that the contents of her clients deposit box remains a mystery. Now it is a race as Frazier tries to figure out what Dalton wants; surely a mastermind who has planned the seemingly perfect crime down to the finest details isn't stupid enough to think that he can demand a jet and make a clean getaway  he has other motives, but what? Punctuated throughout the film are interviews Frazier and Mitchell conduct after the robbery interviews of the hostages (and unbeknownst to them, the crooks as well) as they try to figure out who the good and bad guys are; a difficult task since nobody ever saw their faces and everyone, even the hostages were dressed just like the crooks.
"Inside Man" is a fantastic film that doesn't treat its audience like dopey fifth graders. It is slow to unravel in the beginning, as the players are introduced and the robbery conducted; but throughout the film clues are scattered for the audience to discover and later examine as the plot slowly but surely unravels. Serious props have to go towards first time movie writer Russell Gewirtz for coming up with this ingenious script, with fresh twists and jazzy characters. I look forward to tracking this guy's sure to be budding career.
The script really is amazing and beautifully executed by a fairly haphazard but all the same, stellar cast. Denzel Washington plays the part of old Hollywood style smart cop, cracking some great one-liners throughout. Jodie Foster, while playing a fairly restricted and vague character, still manages to deliver a captivating and dominating performance; but really, that shouldn't come as a surprise. Clive Owen who has played the bad guy before in films like 'Closer' proves himself yet again as a phenomenal leading man; believable both as a brains and bad-ass. Willem Dafoe also has a small part as the S.W.A.T captain.
One complaint is that the film is very long, with a 129 minute run-time. It becomes a little exhausting towards the end, after the slow-burning build-up to the bank robbery, all the clues are revealed in the last 45 minutes and you need to reel in your concentration. From what I have read on these boards, and walking out of the cinema; some people were a little iffy about the end and thought there were quite a few plot-holes. I personally wasn't left with any questions or complaints; I thought the film tied up very nicely. I put that down to the fact that ALL of the burning questions were answered in the last 45 minutes and it can be a little tough to be inundated with information; piecing together the puzzle while also trying to remember exactly what the puzzle was.
"Inside Man" is a very satisfying criminal drama/mystery  and a breath of fresh air in a year that has seen 'Big Mommas House 2' and 'The Pink Panther' in the number one spot at the box office.