Since Denzel has a new movie coming out this Friday (The taking of Pelham 123), I thought one of his movies would be the perfect choice for this weeks Good Life Moviepick. Now as we all know Denzel has so many films to choose from: Cry Freedom, Glory, Malcolm X, The Hurricane, Training Day, I could go on and on. But for this Moviepick I wanted to focus on a film that maybe got swept under the rug because it wasn’t a stereotypical “Denzel” role (he wasn’t playing a real-life figure, he was playing an everyday kind of guy). The movie I’m talking about is Spike Lee’s Inside Man.

What I love about Inside Man is that it’s a movie that is aware of its own movie-ness. By that I mean it’s a heist film, and knows that we the audience are very experienced in that genre. It’s also a hostage film, and it knows that we the audience have seen countless hostage situations in movies before. So what it does is it changes things up and makes that part of the plot. There’s a daring daytime robbery at a Lower Manhattan Bank, and the robbers take fifty hostages. As the movie unfolds it soon becomes apparent that the robbers are one step ahead of the police in every way.

Other than the crisp picture and tightly woven plot, the strength of this film lies in the performances. Although it’s not a typical Denzel role, like I said earlier, it’s that everyday/average Joe quality that makes the character believable. The role of the bank robber is played masterfully by Clive Owen. He brings so many layers to this character – charming, brutal, moral, fiercely intelligent – that for moments during the movie he acts as an anchor for the audience, guiding us along his journey but never giving away where we we’re ending up. There’s also an excellent supporting cast featuring: Willem Dafoe, Jodie Foster, Christopher Plummer, and Chiwetel Ejiofor. The interplay between all of these characters sells the film, and although there are some minor holes throughout the way it is an overall rewarding experience for anyone who enjoys a character-driven drama.

Popularity: 11% [?]

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