Spoiler Alert (just a little)
Spike Lee's new joint-InsideMan-is a heist thriller that finds enough action points to outwit most peers. First I am a huge fan of A-listers doing genre work. A reference would be Soderbergh's Ocean's Eleven. The equation looks like this: script that is generic enough to appeal to mass audiences + artistic creators who usually make less accessable, more personal, thought provoking films = box office bonanza!
I very much enjoyed the melting-pot style of this film. Spike Lee is well known for bringing all the ingredients of NewYork together to find drama in his movies and that tone plays quite well here as a downtown bank is robbed. At one point a construction worker has to call his ex-wife to the scene to translate Albanian for the detectives on the case. Lee films this movie with a melting pot of techniques as well, from fast motion cinematography to staging scenes like a Bogart movie of the 40's the tone stays true to the characters while moving the audience along without stall.
I found this movie most interesting because it follows the recent trend of politically themed cinema (overtly emphasised at the Acadamy Awards). Less apparent in this movie than say V for Vendetta, I found a similar thread tied these two together quite closely. Both of these films question the appearence of evil. In a society that seems now to be waking up to their feelings of remorse and confusion brought on in our daily politics these current films seem to put a finger on the pulse of uncertainy as to who is to blame for the state of our problems. Both InsideMan and V are tales of revenge. Not revenge to satisfy one perogitive, but revenge for a society, country, or a group of people. These films examine how outragous deeds can be the cover of good at work. If you have read any of my blog you will know that I appreciated both of these films on the merit of "bringing down the man." Both movies are about people standing up to the hegemony of control inflicted by the powers that be, and giving the truth back to the people whos backs upon the powerful stand.