Directed by: Spike Lee
Starring: Denzel Washington, Clive Owen, Jodie Foster, Willem Dafoe
Rated: R for language and some violent images.
Parental Notes: This is not a movie for kids. There is plenty of violence and language, not to mention the frightening aspects of the hostage storyline. Moreover, it's not a movie aimed at youngsters. Teens may enjoy it, particularly if they have a fondness for heist films or are politically savvy.
Spike Lee is not known for making heist movies, or for making formula movies, so it's no surprise that “Inside Man” is not entirely a typical caper flick. However, it is something of a surprise to watch a well-crafted bank robbery film and realize that it's a Spike Lee film. There are scenes which are clearly from a Spike Lee film, but they are sprinkled in amongst plenty of straightforward thriller scenes. It's a peculiar mix.
The plot is intricately crafted. Dalton Russell (Clive Owen, “Sin City”) informs us in a brief monologue at the beginning of the film that he has planned the perfect bank robbery. Owen has nearly mastered an American accent for the part, and he delivers a cold-blooded, highly intelligent performance. It's a thrill to watch as he and his crew take over a Wall Street bank in standard form: masks, guns, yelling people to get down on the floor. They take everyone inside the bank hostage and begin issuing demands to the cops.
Hostage negotiator Detective Keith Frazier (Denzel Washington, “Man on Fire”) is dispatched promptly to both ensure that all of Russell's hostages get out safely and to catch Russell and his gang. Frazier thinks the robbery is a straightforward hostage situation, but he soon realizes that Russell has thought of everything. Soon he puts enough pieces together to know that Russell is stalling – but he can't quite figure out why. Washington handles the ups and downs of the role with panache, and it's very clear in some scenes that he's greatly enjoying himself.
Frazier's work is complicated by the addition of Madeline White (Jodie Foster, “Flightplan”) to the scene. She works for extremely wealthy people as an intermediary of sorts, and has been hired by Arthur Case (Christopher Plummer, “Syriana”), the owner of the bank, to make sure his interests are protected during the robbery. Foster is cool and collected in this oddly inscrutable role, and it's nice to see her as a quasi antihero for once.
“Inside Man” is the first feature film screenplay from Russell Gewirtz, and it's a surprisingly good one in spite of the frequent heist movie flaws of implausibility. It's hard to know how much of the tight pacing, snappy dialog, and political humor is Spike Lee's and how much is Gewirtz's, but it's clear that Lee's fingerprints are on a quality product. Lee is too much of an auteur to make a film that doesn't sport his left-wing politics, attention to racial conflict, and tight dialog, but for the most part, “Inside Man” doesn't feel like a Spike Lee picture.
Sure, there are plenty of moments where racial tension is played up. The hero is an African-American man while all the other main characters are white. One of the first hostages to be sent out by Russell is a Sikh, and he is assaulted by the police surrounding the bank. Those moments, especially the natural dialog that fills them, are Spike Lee through and through.
“Inside Man” is a fairly solid thriller. It's suspenseful, exciting, and the robbery itself is cleverly plotted. Even better, the thread of mystery that runs through the later parts of the film doesn't depend on keeping things from the viewer. Clues are dispensed at a steady pace, and once we learn what is really going on it seems like we should have figured it out earlier. Fans of Lee may find his political content too watered down, and fans of heist movies may be annoyed at the digressions, but folks who enjoy the blending of two different genres will doubtless enjoy it.
Directed by: James McTeigue
Starring: Natalie Portman, Hugo Weaving, Stephen Fry, John Hurt, Stephen Rea
Rated: R for strong violence and some language.
Parental Notes: This is not a film for youngsters. There is a fair dose of violence and the glorification of rebellion against authority. Parents will want to consider whether their children are ready for this sort of grown-up movie.
The Wachowski brothers and James McTeigue (their first assistant director on the Matrix films) have done it again: “V for Vendetta,” like the Matrix trilogy, packs a punch in individual scenes and contains plenty of thrilling action, but taken as a whole is something of a mess. Sadly, “V for Vendetta” is even messier than the Matrix films. Character arcs fall apart when examined, only the villains make tactical mistakes, and the passage of time is frequently unclear. However, if those who can suspend their disbelief and quiet any tendencies toward analysis will find “V for Vendetta” entertaining.
The title character, V (Hugo Weaving, “The Matrix” trilogy), is a lone freedom fighter in totalitarian Britain who goes about cloaked and wearing a Guy Fawkes mask. He rescues Evey (Natalie Portman, “Closer”) from corrupt patrolmen, and is fascinated by her name. He offers to take her with him to a performance -- which turns out to be the demolition of the Old Bailey, Britain's high courthouse. She is horrified, but when later he broadcasts a message urging Britain's citizens to rise up and join him in overthrowing the government, she finds herself drawn to him and winds up acting as his helper.
Meanwhile, dictator Adam Sutler (John Hurt, “The Skeleton Key”), is demanding that his underlings find V and prevent any sort of uprising. Inspector Finch (Stephen Rea, “Breakfast on Pluto”) is hot on V's trail but his investigation is turning up things about the government which Sutler would prefer stayed buried. As V's scheme nears its completion and Finch digs deeper and deeper, the government's hold on Britain looks increasingly tenuous.
The individual scenes in “V for Vendetta” are extremely powerful. There are thrilling fights, moving revelations, and stoic reactions to terrible things. Unfortunately, when strung together the scenes lose some of their power. V's character is straightforward and borderline sociopathic, but the people around him seem more driven by plot necessities than by any sort of character arcs. Evey's reactions to V's behavior are strange, Finch vacillates between being heroic and being one of the villains, and it's only V who has any sort of consistency to him.
It's a pity, because Evey could serve as the audience's entry into the strange world V inhabits, much as Neo served as an entry into the strange world of the Matrix. However, Evey is too inconsistent to be easily identified with. Her strength in the second half of the film is inspiring, but the explanation for it is difficult to reconcile with the rest of the film.
Fortunately, V is a thrilling character. He's much like the Phantom of the Opera: mysterious, masked, impossibly talented at a variety of subjects, and thoroughly romantic. He represents standing up against a totalitarian government, and is happy to be the catalyst for change even if he cannot participate in the new, free Britain he is helping to bring about.
Many things from the graphic novel have been changed, as usually happens with the transition to film. Fans of the original will have to set aside their fond memories of that story in order to enjoy this new version. Characters' roles and professions have been shifted, and only the basic outline of the original story remains, along with a few interesting tidbits.
Even with its flaws, “V for Vendetta” is a thoroughly entertaining film. Moviegoers who can enjoy a film in the moment rather than by examining and analyzing it, and who are looking for a good action flick with a little philosophy thrown in will probably enjoy it. Those who like their philosophy to actually make sense and who insist on consistent character arcs and a flowing plot should find another film to see.
--30--