top of page

Inside Man (2006) ft. Peterson W. Hill

  • Writer: Thomas Duncan
    Thomas Duncan
  • 15 hours ago
  • 5 min read

Guest:


Cast:

  • Spike Lee, Director

  • Russell Gewirtz, Writer

  • Matthew Libatique, Cinematographer

  • Terence Blanchard, Music

  • Barry Alexander Brown, Editing

  • Denzel Washington as Detective Keith Frazier

  • Clive Owen as Dalton Russell

  • Jodie Foster as Madeleine White

  • Christopher Plummer as Arthur Case

  • Chiwetel Ejiofor as Detective Bill Mitchell

  • Kim Director as Valerie Keepsake / Stevie

  • James Ransone as Darius Peltz / Steve-O

  • Carlos Andrés Gómez as Kenneth Damerjian / Steve

  • Bernie Rachelle as Chaim


Background:

  • Inside Man was released on March 24, 2006.

  • On an estimated budget between $45-60 million, the film would go on to gross roughly $184.4 million to finish #21 at the worldwide box office for 2006.

  • Critics were mildly positive at the time with the exception of Roger Ebert, and this was, at the time, the most successful film of either Denzel Washington or Spike Lee's careers.

  • Nevertheless, a planned sequel fizzled out after a few years in pre-production.

  • Inside Man currently holds an 86% on RT among critics, a 76 score on Metacritic, and a 3.7/5 on Letterboxd.


Plot Summary: Inside Man follows a tense bank robbery in New York City that quickly becomes a battle of wits. Denzel Washington plays a sharp detective sent in to negotiate when a group of masked robbers, led by Clive Owen, take control of a crowded Manhattan bank. As the police try to understand the robbers’ plan, the situation grows more complicated. A powerful banker played by Christopher Plummer secretly hires a smooth and mysterious fixer, played by Jodie Foster, to protect a dangerous secret hidden inside the bank.


Did You Know:

  • The scene in the coffee shop was improvised. On the DVD commentary, Spike Lee states that when Denzel Washington ad-libbed the line "I'll bet you can get a cab though," he nearly ruined the take by laughing so loud at Washington's line.

  • The scene in which the boy shows Dalton the video game he is playing on his PSP was not in the original script. Director Spike Lee added it to "make a comment on gangster rap's infatuation with violence." The game is not real, but was created by an animation house. Lee asked them to come up with animation for "the most violent game ever".

  • The pizza that the police give to the robbers has the name "Sal's", a reference to one of Spike Lee's earlier films, Do the Right Thing (1989).

  • According to an interview with Spike Lee, Ron Howard was originally going to direct the film. But Russell Crowe showed him the script for Cinderella Man (2005), and Howard went off to do that instead.

  • Jodie Foster's Madeleine White character was based on a real-life "fixer", a French man known for problem-solving and negotiations at the highest levels of both American and international conflict. He once described his job this way: "If you have a problem, first you call the police. If they can't help you, you call the FBI. And if THEY can't help you, THEN...you call me."

  • Marcia Jean Kurtz played a similar role as a hostage in Dog Day Afternoon (1975), and Lionel Pina, who delivered pizza to the beleaguered hostages here, also performed the same task in the earlier film.


Best Performance: Spike Lee (Director)/Russell Gewirtz (Writer)

Best Secondary Performance: Spike Lee (Director)/Denzel Washington (Frazier)

Most Charismatic Award: Denzel Washington (Frazier)/Clive Owen (Russell)/Jodie Foster (Madeleine)

Best Scene:

  • Hold Up

  • Madeleine White

  • Frazier Inside

  • Hostage Assassination

  • Raid

  • Epilogue

Favorite Scene: Raid/Madeleine White/Epilogue

Most Indelible Moment: Raid/Epilogue


In Memorium:

  • Matt Clark, 89, American actor (In the Heat of the Night, The Outlaw Josey Wales, The Jeff Foxworthy Show)

  • Judy Pace, 83, American actress (Peyton Place, The Young Lawyers, Brian's Song)


Best Lines/Funniest Lines:

Dalton Russell: I'm no martyr. I did it for the money. But it's not worth much if you can't face yourself in the mirror. Respect is the ultimate currency. I was stealing from a man who traded his away for a few dollars. And then he tried to wash away his guilt. Drown it in a lifetime of good deeds and a sea of respectability. It almost worked, too. But inevitably, the further you run from your sins, the more exhausted you are when they catch up to you. And they do. Certain. It will not fail.


Dalton Russell: This time next week, I'll be sucking down piña coladas in a hot tub with six girls named Amber and Tiffany.

Keith Frazier: More like taking a shower with two guys named Jamal and Jesus, if you know what I mean. And here's the bad news: that thing you're sucking on? It's not a piña colada!


Madeliene White: Well detective, there are matters at stake here that are a little bit above your pay grade. No offense.

Keith Frazier: Well, why don't you just tell the mayor to raise my pay grade to the proper level, and problem solved.


Vikram Walia: Fuckin' tired of this shit. What happened to my fuckin' civil rights? Why can't I go anywhere without being harassed? Get thrown out a bank, I'm a hostage, I get harassed. I go to the airport, I can't go through security without a random selection. Fuckin' random, my ass.

Keith Frazier: I bet you can get a cab though.

Vikram Walia: I guess that's one of the perks.


Keith Frazier: C'mon let's go down the street to the bar. I'll buy you a drink

Dalton Russell: Thanks but I'm trying to stay away from bars right now if you know what I mean.


Dalton Russell: Fact is, all lies, all evil deeds, they stink. You can cover them up for a while, but they don't go away.


Keith Frazier: Alright, I've got them right where I want 'em.

Det. Bill Mitchell: Where's that?

Keith Frazier: Right behind me with my pants around my ankles, but it's a start.


Madeliene White: You know, there's a famous saying by the Baron de Rothschild, 'When there's blood in the streets, buy property.'


The Stanley Rubric:

Legacy: 5.83

Impact/Significance: 7.33

Novelty: 7

Classic-ness: 6.83

Rewatchability: 7.5

Audience Score: 7.75 (70% Google, 85% RT)

Total: 42.24


Remaining Questions:

  • How much did Russell and his crew get away with?

  • What happens to Case?

  • How did Russell find out the information on Case?

Comments

© 2023 by Ronny Duncan Studio Network Proudly created with ERDM

bottom of page