Inside Man: The Decision ’08 Review
The reason for the decline in movie attendance is debatable; some say the movies are worse; others, myself included, think there are simply too many entertainment options today, and after all, a DVD and a decent size TV screen have their charms. What is undeniable, I think, is that the technical level of filmmaking is at an all-time high, but that proficiency seems to have been matched stride for stride with a decline in the auteur.
Enter Spike Lee. This is a political blog, so let’s stipulate up front that I hate the man’s politics, but, like Martin Scorsese and Woody Allen, Lee is a distinctive filmmaker of both vision and talent. I have recently rewatched several older Spike Lee films, including Crooklyn, Jungle Fever, and Mo’ Better Blues, and even with their flaws (and flawed they are), the films are distinctive and intriguing.
Inside Man, however, is no Spike Lee joint, despite what the opening credits may say. Yes, it has some of his trademark camera shots and quirkiness, but these are afterthoughts. This one, my friends, was strictly for the money. Much has been made of Lee’s racial asides that are sprinkled throughout the film. Unlike most critics, I found them labored and obvious. True, the didactic tone that too often mars Lee’s work is missing here, but it’s not his script. Lee is a director-for-hire, and it shows.
Denzel Washington is perfectly fine, and Clive Owen, Jodie Foster, Christopher Plummer, and the rest of the cast are adequate, but the biggest flaw is a script that is not even in the neighborhood of plausibility. The premise is shaky, several of the characters (particularly Jodie Foster’s Miss White) feel false, and the film’s big secret is laughably contrived.
I didn’t hate the movie, despite what sounds like a pan; it’s entertaining enough, and it has a few good laughs to break up what little tension is generated. This is not The Usual Suspects, however; it’s more like a so-so TV movie that just happens to be performed by first-rate talent.
May I add in a recent film, 25th Hour alongside his best movies, with fine performances all around (Bryan Cox in particular). You could also mention Clockers, with roughly the same qualities to commend it.
Aside from Homicide – Life on the Street, and The Wire (both TV shows), you rarely get a complex picture from a minority viewpoint these days. Lee may have one – note polemics in his public statements, but his films rarely take the easy way out. Too bad this wasn’t one of them.
I have only two words to say.
The best two-word line in movie history.
“Two slices.”