The most underrated movie of 2006 is Spike Lee's Inside Man, a terrific little caper flick that quickly turns into something a lot more interesting.
My name is Dalton Russell. Pay strict attention to what I say because I choose my words carefully and I never repeat myself. I 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, it's exceedingly simple: Because I can. Which leaves us only with the how. And therein, as the Bard would tell us, lies the rub.
As promised in his opening monologue delivered straight into the camera, Dalton Russell (Clive Owen, who also starred that same year in Alfonso Cuarón's dystopian sci-fi classic, Children of Men) has masterminded a meticulously planned bank heist — or has he? His intricate caper immediately turns into a hostage situation as half the New York police force descends on his location.
Enter veteran hostage negotiator Detective Keith Frazier (Denzel Washington, great as always — I'd pay to watch him read the phonebook). So far, it all sounds a bit like a remake of Dog Day Afternoon or maybe even Die Hard.
It isn't.
This is the strangest bank robbery in history. Nobody seems to be in a hurry to steal anything, or negotiate demands, or make a getaway when they're done. Instead, Russell and his crew sit and wait. And wait. And wait.
It's a game of cat and mouse, and Detective Frazier strongly suspects he's the one holding the cheese.
Superb supporting work from Jodie Foster as a sleazy fixer, Christopher Plummer as the bank owner in need of her services, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Frazier's bemused partner, and Willem Dafoe as a trope-busting SWAT commander who is neither a bloodthirsty psychopath or a bumbling buffoon.
Director Spike Lee also treats us to an up close look at how a post-9/11, multicultural New York has changed since the gritty days of classic 1970s crime pictures (The French Connection, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three). Indeed, this might be the best use of the city in a movie since Woody Allen's Manhattan. The most insightful, anyway.
Supporting work and demographic insights aside, though, it's the high-stakes sparring between Denzel Washington and Clive Owen, two of my generation's coolest actors, that makes this movie so much fun to watch.
This is to date the highest grossing movie of Spike Lee's career.
A great Saturday night picture. Highly recommended.
My choices are noted with a ★. A tie is indicated with a ✪. Historical Oscar winners are noted with a ✔. Best foreign-language picture winners are noted with an ƒ. Best animated feature winners are noted with an @. A historical winner who won in a different category is noted with a ✱.
Trying to harness violence to serve an end other than violence itself is like relying on a mad dog to protect your property—you're more likely to get bitten yourself.
A good year for movies—Do The Right Thing, Cinema Paradiso, Crimes and Misdemeanors, When Harry Met Sally, sex lies and videotape, Field of Dreams, My Left Foot, The Killer, Glory, Roger & Me, Henry V, Driving Miss Daisy, Batman, Say Anything, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Kiki's Delivery Service, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure ... and on and on.
It was an even better for getting married. At least if you were Katie-Bar-The-Door and the Mythical Monkey.
P.S. I'm sure the head of my alternate Oscar pal, Erik Beck, will explode when he sees I didn't pick Denzel Washington's supporting performance in Glory—and I don't blame him. Let's just say I'm saving Denzel Washington's award for Malcolm X, which I think is the best performance of his career and the one I'd want you to see if you were only going to see one.
PICTURE (Drama) winner:Do The Right Thing (prod. Spike Lee)
PICTURE (Comedy/Musical) winner:When Harry Met Sally ... (prod. Rob Reiner and Andrew Scheinman)
"That's Typing" Tuesday, in which I share unpolished, unpublished writings from my vast store of unpolished, unpublished writings. On Tuesdays.
From my notes on the 1995 submarine thriller, Crimson Tide:
There's a telling moment early in Crimson Tide—Gene Hackman as the submarine skipper is standing on the conning tower with the last minute replacement for his executive officer (Denzel Washington). As they sail out of port, they smoke cigars and watch the sunset, a long moment of silence.
At last Hackman says, "Bravo, Hunter."
"Sir?"
"You knew to shut up and enjoy the view. Most eggheads want to talk it away. Your stock just went up a couple of points."
Which is true enough—as the man said, "Be here now." Yet, ironically, it's Hackman who is talking away the moment, and therein lies the scene's subtlety. He's no "egghead," but he is a bully, and he can't stand the notion that anyone could experience anything differently than he would. So he attempts to browbeat Washington even in this, a cigar and a sunset. Establish the pecking order right off the bat. He might just as well challenge his first officer to a pissing contest right there on the conning tower of the sub.
Washington neither backs down nor responds to the bait. He's inside himself where his sense of who he is resides. Just where it should be.
In fact, watching the movie again I was struck by just how much Hackman does talk. The man simply cannot shut up—about anything. Which makes him not only a bully, but an insecure bully at that, a dangerous enough phenomenon even when he isn't packing nuclear heat ...
The Most Nominations ... Without Winning Alex North holds the record for most Best Score nominations without winning. What 1969 biblical drama featured one of his nominated scores?
Winners in Both Leading and Supporting Roles Six actors and five actresses have won Oscars in both the leading and supporting categories. Denzel Washington, named Best Actor for Training Day (2001), also won a Supporting Actor award for what 1989 historical drama starring Matthew Broderick?
Alien Invasions While the Best Director Oscar has only gone to English-language films, several times directors have been nominated for making films in a different language. Constantin Costa-Gavras was nominated as Best Director of 1969 for which French-language political thriller?
By the way, I have a quibble with the way TCM has worded the first question—while the film has religious overtones, I don't believe it can be called a "biblical" drama, which implies that the story is adapted from the Bible or is otherwise a period costume piece. It's neither.
And remember, you can check out TCM's entire "31 Days of Oscar" schedule here.
Named for Katie-Bar-The-Door, the Katies are "alternate Oscars"—who should have been nominated, who should have won—but really they're just an excuse to write a history of the movies from the Silent Era to the present day.
To see a list of nominees and winners by decade, as well as links to my essays about them, click the highlighted links:
Remember: There are no wrong answers, only movies you haven't seen yet.
The Silent Oscars
And don't forget to check out the Silent Oscars—my year-by-year choices for best picture, director and all four acting categories for the pre-Oscar years, 1902-1927.
Look at me—Joe College, with a touch of arthritis. Are my eyes really brown? Uh, no, they're green. Would we have the nerve to dive into the icy water and save a person from drowning? That's a key question. I, of course, can't swim, so I never have to face it. Say, haven't you anything better to do than to keep popping in here early every morning and asking a lot of fool questions?
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