Inside Man (R)

Denzel Washington and Clive Owen star in “Inside Man” – a quite literal title of a heist movie that tries hard to shed its attachment to the films that inspired it. The production is directed by Spike Lee, and while sprinkled with social commentary, Lee has made, quite fully, a straightforward heist picture with solid performances and filmmaking. Where it sufferers is its motivation. Neither that fault of Owen nor Washington, “Inside Man” presents a film full of buildup and expectation that fails to pay off. It’s taut and synchronized, but sadly unfocused. 

The inspiration of “Inside Man” from “Dog Day Afternoon” is clear. They both open similarly – a vehicle pulls up to a bank in New York (this time Manhattan, not Brooklyn) and a group of men enters and announce their intentions for robbery. But while “Dog Day Afternoon” spent time studying its characters – from their psychology down to their mannerisms – “Inside Man” is all action. In “Dog Day,” a police standoff begins when a principal character is made by onlookers outside; in “Inside Man,” one begins after the detonation of several smoke bombs. This film’s robbers want to be seen, a point hammered home throughout. 

“Inside Man” borrows from tropes of countless heist films and cop procedurals. Owen, playing a man named Dalton Russell, opens the film by positioning himself as a serious character whilst talking to the camera, telling us about his plan and the brilliance of it. As the movie unfolds, it’s easy to suppose the brilliance of his plan won’t be realized until the end, and you’d be right. But when the reveal at the end becomes apparent, it never truly hits above surface, nor makes up for the film’s pacing issues and shaky cinematography throughout. 

Washington here plays a solid character. He’s teamed up with “12 Years a Slave” alum Chiewtel Ejiofor as a cop riding a desk pending an internal affairs investigation for a crime he swears he didn’t do. Wether or not we believe him at the beginning we do by the end. Washington’s Detective Frazier is integral – the kind of cop who refuses to drop a case even when it’s in his best interest to do so. He’s fast-talking, smooth, brave, smart. At one point, Dalton, playing no games with Frazier, opines, “You’re too smart to be a cop.” It’s probably a compliment; the film ends in such a way as to unmistakably prove this, though the script fails to explore the cop vs. criminal relationship on anything but a superficial level. 

There’s a host of other players, such as Willem Dafoe, who plays a territorial sergeant who follows and ignores orders when he shouldn’t. Christopher Plummer also appears as a bank CEO named Case with much to lose in terms of an item held within a safety deposit box at the bank. He calls Madeleine White (Jodi Foster), a power broker (as touted by her second hand résumé and implications from other characters) to ‘handle the situation’ for him. Foster inserts herself into the scene, attempting to power play Frazier, Dalton, and others. She has keen insight into the human psychology of Case and Frazier; however her assessment of Dalton comes up woefully short when she (1) realizes Dalton already has Case’s item in his possession, and (2) he knows the item’s importance when she does not. White feels to me as a character intended for much more importance. Foster does her best, but the character isn’t nearly as refined as the script wants her to be. 

Aside from these criticisms, what really failed to impress me watching “Inside Man” is it simply doesn’t feel like a robbery. Sure, there’s a lot of smoke bombs, rifles, and threats of violence (on-screen violence is very minimal), but the film itself clambers around without making the robbery any kind of a focal point. Dalton and his crew (all draped in painter’s uniforms and masks) never mention their end game, never question the bank’s employees for details on the vault, money, etc., and never seem to really be after anything. 

Dalton is, of course, after something – but through a film littered with suppositions, what ifs, and post hoc interviews with hostages, its effect comes up short. White learns its importance and Frazier suspects the same. But it feels like Lee hoped the ending would vindicate the film’s ‘in the dark’ exposition style. There’re several elements that hint at something deeper (a discussion between Dalton and Frazier on relationships and another between Dalton and a kid with a violent video game its best), but overall this feels like a series of events rather than a cohesive film. “Inside Man” is interesting; it’s just not transcendent. 

– by Mark Ziobro