‘Inside Man’ is a puzzle missing a few pieces

By Michael Eidam

Who is the “Inside Man”? Apparently it’s not all that important. The latest effort from Spike Lee is more setup than payoff, and more of a slow chess match than a fast-paced thriller. But if you have the patience and enjoy good acting, it’s a movie worth seeing.

Clive Owen plays Dalton Russell, a cool-as-ice bank robber who tells us at the film’s onset the “what,” “where” and “why,” ending with, “The only thing that remains is the ‘how,’ and as the bard tells us, therein lies the rub.” And so we’re set up for an action-packed caper movie. (Or so we believe.)

Denzel Washington plays Det. Keith Frazier, a cop with a checkered past who, thanks to Dalton and his gang, gets a chance at redemption. Frazier oozes confidence as he takes over the crime scene and puts a meek Capt. John Darius (Willem Dafoe) in his place.

Meanwhile, Russell has the hostages in the bank strip to their underwear and put on garb exactly like his crew’s, and as he tosses the first agent out, Frazier realizes the dilemma: He’s not going to be able to tell who is in on it and who isn’t. Washing- ton puts in a great perfor- mance, full of energy and style, as he tries to figure out Russell’s game. But there are points at which Frazier seems conveniently slow on the uptake.

As the action plays out, we get future snippets of Frazier and his partner, Det. Bill Mitchell (Chiwetel Ejiofor), interrogating the hostages after the situation is resolved, trying to find out who was actually involved in the robbery. They’re great moments ? quick and punchy, full of wit and charisma. Unfortunately, though, because we see certain people make it through OK, it takes some of the drama out of the hostage situation.

When the bank’s chairman of the board, Arthur Case (Christopher Plummer), hears about the robbery and which of his many branches is being robbed, he goes white. He seems to know instinctively what the robbers are after (how he would know this is never explained).

He calls on Madeline White (Jodie Foster) to take care of the situation while trying to be tight-lipped about what the situation actually is. All he’s willing to give up is that there is information in a safety deposit box that he doesn’t want out.

We don’t get a lot of back-story on White, either, but we can tell from the arrogance Foster oozes that she’s a power-broker who deals in unstated threats and hinted promises. She uses her influences to worm her way into situation in order to protect Case’s secret.

As the hostage situation plays out, it’s fun to watch the chess moves and see Russell, Frazier and White try to get what they want out of each other. But it’s also where the move starts to slow. Frazier finally realizes Russell is stalling for time, and unfortunately, we realize it too. The cops are stalling, the criminals are stalling and meanwhile we’re in the audience waiting for the story to get in gear.

What we start to realize is that, despite the prologue, the “how” is fairly clear from the moment the hostages strip, and the movie itself seems to lose interest in the idea of unveiling the “inside man.” It’s as if, halfway through the story, the writer changed his mind. The “what” and “why” are the real mysteries. Even Russell seems to have a dif- ferent explan- ation for why he did it at the movie’s end.

“Inside Man” has a clever script and is directed with style by Lee, but the movie is mostly a cerebral exercise that lacks any real visceral intensity. It’s also a puzzler without enough pieces to form a complete picture until late into the movie.

Even worse, there are some outright cheats ? false plants by the writer that are there for no other reason than to leave you confused. The audience is left in the dark for too long, and for all the setup we endure, the payoff feels flat.

The real charm is in the small moments: an exchange between Russell and a young hostage about the violence in his video game, the great one-liners courtesy of Frazier and, as might be expected in a Spike Lee movie, some commentary on life in general.

Perhaps the best line in the movie comes when Frazier tries to get Russell to let his guard down by telling him he’s too broke to propose to his girlfriend. Russell tells him, if they’re in love, money shouldn’t matter. Says Frazier, “Why thank you, Mr. Bank Robber, I appreciate that.”