Inside Man, review

Inside Man

Inside Man (IM) is probably one of Spike Lee’s most neatly crafted movies to date. While I truly enjoyed his masterpiece Malcolm X, IM is just extremely well put together. Everything seems to fit, and this might have something to do with the fact that Spike didn’t write the movie. Spike Lee’s writing, while powerful, is a little disjointed. Russell Gewirtz’s writing is tight and to the point. Spike Lee seems to have found a new directing style thanks to Gewirtz’s writing.

Another thing that makes this movie so enjoyable to watch is the fact that there is so much talent in the cast. Denzel Washington blows away everyone else on screen with his Detective Keith Frazier character. Washington plays the character so cool that even the way he dresses and walks says a lot about this character. Jodie Foster, while not much screen time, is also compelling to watch. Chiwetel Ejiofor (Serenity, Four Brothers) is another person that you will enjoy watching in the movie. The most restrained performance comes from Christopher Plummer. In one scene, Plummer’s character goes from being a ruthless banker to a slightly foolish old man, as he tries to butter up the police.

The other thing that works in the film is the surprising powerful score by Jazz composer Terence Blanchard. While working on many Spike Lee scores, Blanchard usually takes a laid back approach, but in this movie, he goes for a more loud, theme driven style. The score is a cross between Williams and Zimmer, while retaining some of Blanchard’s Jazz influences.

After the dreadful crap like She Hate Me and Bamboozled, I was beginning to really hate Spike’s recent work; however he’s gotten some cool points for this one. This film works on so many levels that you’ll come out of the film smiling because of how well constructed this film is.

Grade A-


Denzel Washington: “Where’s the doughnut shop, Officer?”

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