Inside Man (2006)

A police detective, a bank robber, and a high-power broker enter high-stakes negotiations after the criminal's brilliant heist spirals into a hostage situation.

Director:

Spike Lee

Writer:

Russell Gewirtz

Stars:

Denzel Washington, Clive Owen, Jodie Foster

6 wins & 11 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Denzel Washington	...	Detective Keith Frazier
Clive Owen	...	Dalton Russell
Jodie Foster	...	Madeleine White
Christopher Plummer	...	Arthur Case
Willem Dafoe	...	Captain John Darius
Chiwetel Ejiofor	...	Detective Bill Mitchell
Carlos Andrés Gómez	...	Steve
Kim Director	...	Stevie
James Ransone	...	Steve-O
Bernie Rachelle	...	Chaim (as Bernard Rachelle)
Peter Gerety	...	Captain Coughlin
Victor Colicchio	...	Sergeant Collins
Cassandra Freeman	...	Sylvia
Peter Frechette	...	Peter Hammond
Gerry Vichi	...	Herman Gluck

Storyline

From a cell, a man tells us he has planned the perfect bank robbery; he invites us to watch. An efficient gang enters a Manhattan bank, locks the doors, and takes hostages. They work deliberately, without haste. Detective Frazier is assigned to negotiate, but half his mind is occupied with the corruption charges he is facing. The bank's president has something to protect in a safe deposit box, so he brings in Madeleine White, a high-power broker with a hidden agenda. With an army of police surrounding the bank, the thief, the cop, and the plutocrat's fixer enter high-stakes negotiations. Why are the robbers asking for a plane, if they are so competent and they know they won't get one? Why aren't they in more of a hurry? If the job's perfect, why is the thieves' leader in a cell?

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Plot Keywords:

bank | hostage | bank robber | robber | negotiation | 

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Taglines:

It looked like the perfect bank robbery. But you can't judge a crime by its cover.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some violent images

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook UIP [Germany]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Albanian Spanish

Release Date:

24 March 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

El plan perfecto

Filming Locations:

Exchange Place, Lower Manhattan, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$45,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$28,954,945, 26 March 2006, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$88,513,495

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$184,376,254

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Imagine Entertainment, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks

Technical Specs

Runtime:

129 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to Spike Lee, he and Willem Dafoe met in the men's room during the intermission of the play 'Julius Caesar', in which Denzel Washington appeared. As they were standing side by side in the men's room, Spike said: "We should work together" and Dafoe replied: "Yeah, Spike, we should" and that was it. Later on, Spike sent him the script.

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Goofs

Obvious stunt double when Frazier and Russell fall down the stairs. Frazier has a shaved head while the stunt man has a full head of hair.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Dalton Russell: My name is Dalton Russell. Pay strict attention to what I say because I choose my words carefully and I never repeat myself. I've told you my name: that's the Who. The Where could most readily be described as a prison cell. But there's a vast difference between being stuck in a tiny cell and being in prison. The What is easy: recently I planned and set in motion events to execute the perfect bank robbery. That's also the When. As for the Why: beyond the obvious financial motivation...

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Crazy Credits

Most unusual for a feature film the creative filmmakers (such as director, writer, producer etc.) are named on a title card in the end credits in addition to their appearance in the opening credits.

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Connections

Referenced in Howard Stern on Demand: Artie Gambles/Sandra Bernhard (2006)

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Soundtracks

Gold Digger
Written by Kanye West (as Kanye Omari West), Ray Charles, Renald Richard
Performed by Kanye West featuring Jamie Foxx
Courtesy of Roc-A-Fella Records, L.L.C.
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises
Contains a sample of "I Got a Woman"
Performed by Ray Charles
Courtesy of Atlantic Recording Corp.
By Arrangement with Warner Music Group Film & TV Licensing

User Reviews

Good - but not that good

I went in to this film with high expectations due to the cast and whilst their performances were fairly good, the film as a whole was not as great as I'd hoped. As a hostage movie I found The Negotiator with Sam Jackson far more entertaining and the start of Swordfish with Hugh Jackman far more exciting (the worlds largest walking claymore mines). I found the story interesting but once I got the gist of what was going on I just found myself wanting to get to the end, not really caring what happened along the way. As a bank robbery movie I found the whole process of Oceans 11 and Heat far more interesting and cerebral. I won't give anything away and talk about the ending, but when it comes, considering the fairly slow build up, it is one of those "oh right" moments but it doesn't hit you like the ending of Planet of the Apes or The Usual Suspects. So to summarise, an interesting journey, but not one to add to your DVD collection for repeated viewing. It gets a 7 mainly for the 2 central performances from Owen & Washington and for Jodie foster looking great for once (good riddance to those awful Silence of the Lambs FBI clothes)