Paparelli's Movie ReviewsInside Man
Thursday, May 11, 2006
year: 2006directed by: Spike Lee
written by: Russell Gewirtz
notable cast: Denzel Washington, Clive Owen, Jodie Foster
Paparelli's rating:
(0 = worst, **** = best)Spike Lee's movies always leave me with mixed feelings, and 'Inside Man' is no exception.
I consider Lee a master of the cinematic moment, the truly dramatic athmosphere in a single scene, capturing the audience to the fullest of their attention. He has the power to, for a moment, truly mesmerize me. For instance, in the opening of 'Do the Right Thing' the way the heat and tension of the day is portrayed by the drops of sweat on a woman's body so beautifully photographed, is in my opinion legendary.
Often though, the flow of the storytelling seems neglected and his movies can sometimes appear to be stuck at a certain point. His experiments not always work out that well and although I admire his way of trying to show his vision on the screen, the effects of a failed experiment can ruin the suspension of disbelief the movie itself is based on.
This movie has some failed experiments and some succesful experiments, as well as several truly nice moments, so it's definitely worth to go see it. But I do also have some objections.
The first to mention is the over-the-top product placement in this movie. It's ridiculous how often and how obvious some products are getting extra attention out of the story context. And once you start noticing, the spell of the story is broken.
I find the story itself not that surprising or clever as some people are raving. Maybe that's because I've seen too many movies, but also I feel that there are some things the cops missed that anyone in the audience would have noticed right from the start.
Also the movie is bit on the long side and has several moments were its just seems to come to a total standstill. For a story that's already being told at a slow pace this can be killing. Also the sight of the twirling camera on a big screen sometimes made me dizzy looking at it.
But in general it's an entertaining movie, great to go see when you're with somebody for a night out or for a night indoors in front of the tv (the way the shots were composed made me feel it was shot to be seen on tv sets instead of for a theatre screen).
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