Inside Man

Tonight's feature film is Inside Man.

Inside Man was written by Russell Gewirtz and directed by Spike Lee. The cast includes Denzel Washington, Willem Dafoe, Clive Owen, Jodie Foster, and Christopher Plummer.

My synopsis of Inside Man will be very simple because it is a The Usual Suspects type of movie and you can't give too much away because it will ruin the movie. So, here it goes. Arthur Case (Christopher Plummer) is the owner of a New York bank. Dalton Russell (Clive Owen) is a bank robber mastermind. Detective Keith Frazier (Denzel Washington) is a detective with the NYPD's hostage negotiation team. Miss White (Jodie Foster) is a woman who gets problems resolved for her very exclusive and rich clientele. Arthur Case has a security deposit box in one of the branches at his bank. His security deposit box holds some incredibly valuable and unique items. Dalton Russell has found out about the items in the safety deposit box and forms a team of 5 people to rob Arthur Case's bank. Dalton Russell takes hostages as he robs the bank. Due to the hostage situation Detective Keith Frazier is called in to negotiate the release of the hostages. Arthur Case calls Miss White to ensure that nobody (robbers or cops) gets to his safety deposit box and discover the contents of the safety deposit box. That is the basic premise. The rest I don't want to divulge because it is worth seeing unfold first hand just like in The Usual Suspects.

This is a clever story. I think that Spike Lee did an awesome job directing. He has an amazing talent that few other directors can match. Since it is a "Spike Lee Joint" you have several other themes running along the main storyline. Themes such as racism, sexism, civil rights of Arabs in today's U.S., violence in games, corruption in government and corporations, etc. It is just a smart story told in a compelling way. I also thought that Christopher Plummer did an amazing job in the role of Arthur Case. I don't like to pick favorites but Denzel Washington is one of my top 5 actors. So, the movie automatically becomes a must see with his involvement in the project.

I recommend this movie. I think you will find it clever and smart. I think you will appreciate Spike Lee's unique flavor and touches to the film. I think you will find the back story (that I couldn't give away in the synopsis) unbelievable. You can't get better acting than you do from Denzel, Clive, Jodie, and Christopher. This is a must see and I 100% recommend it to anyone. I will point out that the movie uses the F word a lot. I mean a lot. So, if you or a viewing buddy is offended by that, you might want to reconsider. If not, then full steam ahead.

Other information:
It looks like there is going to be an Inside Man 2. It will include the original writer and director and much of the original cast. I am interested already!
Spike Lee is currently filming a documentary on NBA legend Michael Jordan. I would push baby's out of the way to see this documentary when it's released. Please don't be a let down!
Denzel Washington is starring in The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 alongside John Travolta. The film is being released on June 12th.