Come Inside With Me (Inside Man (DVD))

Member Name: susie19

Product:	Inside Man (DVD)
Date:	17/10/06 (396 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great Bank Robbery Film

Disadvantages: Clive Owen is masked!

The Inside Man – Film Only Review

Let me take you inside a New York Bank where Dalton Russell (Clive Owen) and his team of bank robbers have taken a large number of bank employees hostage. The horror of those caught up in this crisis immediately comes across as employees are segregated into men and women and all are requested to give up their mobile phones and keys. When one of the male bank staff says he has left his mobile at home, tension mounts as Russell scrolls through discarded phones to find the number of his mobile. When he finds the number, he calls it and it inevitably rings; the employee is subjected to a severe beating behind closed doors.

Terror quickly spreads as the employees are told to strip to their underwear and clad themselves in black zip up hooded catsuits, and masks. The weird thing here is that the hostages are dressed the same as the hostage takers. It is difficult for the hostages to identify one from another and the relevance of this becomes stark later in the film.

Meanwhile, we are introduced to the owner of the Bank, Arthur Case (Christopher Plummer) who is upset to hear that one of his branches is in the middle of a siege. When he learns which particular branch his worried expression highlights that there is something particular about this branch of significance. Perhaps his son worked there I wondered?

Arthur Case is clearly concerned to such an extent that he contacts Madeline White (Jodie Foster) who plays a highly confident, sassy and powerful business woman extraordinaire. He informs her that he has something of extreme value in a safe deposit box in the vaults of the bank that he wishes her to retrieve. She soon realizes that this material is something other than precious jewels or metals simply because such a possession would be irrelevant to a man of his status. What could be so valuable, worthy of so much concern to such a wealthy business man?

Denzel Washington plays the part of Chief Detective Keith Frazier in charge of controlling the hostage situation and acting as hostage negotiator. His role adds a lightness to the film and the odd humourous moments make you snigger, such is his wonderful acting style and confident approach in his role. In one scene with his partner Bill Mitchell (Chiwetel Ejiofor), Mitchell says ‘Hey Keith, let me see your shoe’ to a puzzled Frazier and Mitchell continues 'Cause I have never seen anyone put their foot that far up a guy's ass’.

Throughout this film, you actually see very little of Dalton Russell, the chief hostage taker. Fans of Clive Owen may be a little disappointed here as on a few occasions he is unmasked but for the majority of his scenes there is nothing to distinguish him from many other of the actors since he is wearing full body suit, a giant bandage like mask over his face and black sunglasses. Owen does however portray the character of Russell very well and he comes across as a man in complete control of the situation, having planned the robbery to a fine art.

The film takes an unusal turn when Madeline White uses her feminine prowess to convince the hostage takers that she has something to offer. Upon entering the bank she discovers what the mysterious contents of safe deposit box are but Russell Dalton has already seized the contents and she leaves the bank empty handed but with the knowledge of what was of such concern to Arthur Case. Later it becomes clear that she is less than impressed with the secret contents when confronting Case with the words ‘Well, I'd love to tell you what a monster you are, but, uh, I have to help Bin Laden's nephew buy a co-op on Park Ave’.

Negotiations between Dalton Russell (Clive Owen) and Detective Frazier (Denzel Washington) are sharp and keep the plot interesting. Detective Frazier begins to see that this is no ordinary bank robbery and suspects that the hostage takers have a hidden agenda. Various twists including coded clues and bugging devices keep you watching intently as the cat and mouse scenario unfolds between the police and the hostage takers. Willem Dafoe has a small role in this film as one of the police team, Capatin John Darius.

As the siege draws to a close, the significance of the identical clothing becomes apparent. Will the hostage takers rob the bank successfully? Will they escape in the chaos? Will justice be done and will Detective Frazier save the hostages from a terrible fate?

CAST

Dalton Russell – Bank Robbery Organiser - (Clive Owen)
Arthur Case – Bank Manager - (Christopher Plummer)
Keith Frazier - Chief Detective – (Denzel Washington)
Madeline White – Influential Business Woman - (Jodie Foster)
Bill Mitchell – Asst Detective – (Chiwetel Ejiofor)
Captain John Darius - Police Team - (Willem Dafoe)

Running Time 2hrs 9 mins.
Certificate 15. (No sex scenes, some simulated and implied violence)

Opinion
Having heard nothing about this film before I watched it, I had no preconceptions at all of what to expect. I was however, absorbed throughout the film finding it an exciting thriller but with added light comical moments almost Oceans Eleven style. Acting from the main cast, Denzel Washington, Jodie Foster, Clive Owen and Christopher Plummer was convincingly good. The Director Spike Lee has managed to incorporate many twists to the plot giving the film quite a stimulating and intelligent feel. The ending was quite a surprise and unpredicatble. Overall I felt satisfied that I’d seen something I’d happily watch again. A great movie for an evening in.


Thanks for reading.

Summary: Entertaining bank robbery film with plenty of intelligent twists to keep you interested.