Inside Man - 7

I went into this film thinking that it was a somewhat regular heist/thriller film. Not only is it that -and good at it too- it deals with the context that this takes place and ends up making some interesting social commentary on the post 9/11 world. Spike Lee directs this film with a lot of star power, Denzel Washington, Clive Owen, and Jodie Foster. While I haven't seen many Spike Lee films, he seems to be able to give good insight into American culture while both entertaining and being serious. As is obvious by the previews this film isn't about a bank robbery. This means that one can't help but ask the question: so what is this film about? After viewing this film I had a really good conversations with a friend about the many sociological dynamics that the film engages: power, greed, race, assumptions, fear, and evil. I think the film does well to allow for deep discussion for those of us who take film seriously, but is entertaining and complex enough to keep the attention of the more passive audience. Notice too the double meaning of the title. Plenty of discussion to be had.