A smart, rewarding thriller that sees Spike Lee return to form

Rating: 9/10 (18 January 2007)

When Empire magazine listed the 25 best movies of 2006, Inside Man was part of that list (number 19, to be more precise), and the brief review of Spike Lee's latest big screen outing read: "First time in ages he's done the right thing!". Now, I don't think it's the first time in years he's made a good film (I mean, what about the superb 25th Hour, which was released less than half a decade ago?), but it sure as hell marks a return to form after the interesting, but uneven, She Hate Me (2004). The problem with that movie was that it had enough material for two or three different films, with Lee trying to put it all in one flick. This time, though, he sticks to the main plot, with only one or two short digressions, thus delivering one of last year's most accessible and enjoyable films.
On the surface, Inside Man may look like just another heist movie. The fact that it isn't is highlighted from the beginning, the opening sequence featuring Dalton Russell (Clive Owen) speaking straight to the camera and telling the audience he has a plan to pull off the perfect bank robbery. And within a couple of minutes from that scene, he puts his plan into action, using a very simple trick (posing as a painter) to enter a New York bank and ensure everyone cooperates. Naturally, it doesn't take that long before the NYPD is contacted and sends detective Keith Frazier (Denzel Washington) to negotiate with Russell. In the meantime, someone has told the bank's owner, Arthur Case (Christopher Plummer), about the ongoing robbery, and the old man, desperate to conceal some big secret, asks a woman named Madeleine White (Jodie Foster) to help him. What was meant to be an ordinary crime has therefore become a mind game between the cop, the robber and the mysterious lady.
In the hands of another filmmaker, this could have been a pretty formulaic genre film. However, this is a Spike Lee joint, so there's much more than the usual good guy/bad guy showdown. Inside Man is both exciting, funny and intelligent, Lee taking his time to briefly explore other territories as well. A scene where a Sikh hostage is mistaken for a terrorist ("Sh*t! A f*cking Arab!") is a brilliant example of how to use (grotesque) humor to criticize the times we live in, and there's almost a Michael Mann-esquire feel to the relationship between Frazier and Russell, particularly when the two discuss the former's reluctance to getting married. Washington has plenty of fun and proves a convincing lead, even when he's making fun of himself ("I've got them right where I want'em", he tells his partner; "Where's that?" "Right behind me with my pants around my ankles, but it's a start") and Owen is brilliant as the cunning thief, despite a less convincing American accent than the one he adopted in Sin City, because he's got the best material to work on: we don't care about his motive, partly since it's pretty clear he's not after the money, but we keep watching nonetheless, because his methods are fascinating. As for Foster, she's an intriguing presence, although the audience could have benefited from a little more insight on a woman so manipulative she's called "a magnificent c*nt" by the mayor of New York.
So, Spike Lee may not be Christopher Nolan, and Inside Man certainly isn't Memento, but it is undoubtedly one of the most compelling films of 2006. Let's hope Lee keeps making them like this...