Another Spike Lee Film: Inside Man

Inside man by Spike Lee

This film is a 2006 American crime thriller and the themes that run throughout this film are violence, crime, past, conflict, etc. This was directed by Spike Lee, cinematography by Mathew Libatque, written by Russell Gewirtz and produced by Brian Graver.  Production companies involved was Imagine Entertainment, Film works and was distributed by Universal Pictures. The budget of this film was $45 million, but the box office was $184.4 million. The location of this film was set in the United States.

The scene opens with the credits of Universal Pictures and the company Imagine entertainment. O.45 seconds into the film it opens of a white man saying “My name is Dalton Russell” already introducing himself to the audience. This shows this was a direct approach to the audience, already making the audience feel involved and wanting to know what he’s going to say; by dragging their attention in more. He also says “pay attention to my words”, which again shows the audience that the he is talking directly to the audience. The micro feature of performance is expressed through Dalton as he uses his dialogue to attract his audience, literally within one minute. Furthermore the use of the phrase “I don’t repeat myself” could suggest how blunt he is, suggesting/connoting his character. Could he be the antagonist? Mis en scene is used to show that behind him is pitch black with a bright light focusing on him making it look like he is in an interrogation room, alternatively it could suggest that he is in hiding, or even in prison-suggesting that he is a criminal, showing a sort of threat and his motive behind this storyline. This scene was shown through a close up shot of Dalton, focusing on his emotionless expression, showing us the time of character he is to this film.

Scene cross fades to a bank, medium shots are used to show the type of people within the bank, potentially showing their significance later on in the film.  close up scene is used when a man in a white painters uniform, wearing a mask and glasses to cover his identity,  enters the bank. The use of the mis en scene used to create deception making it look like they are real painters, up until he uses a device to turn the CCTV footage off in each corner of the bank. Furthermore, the use of sound builds up tension, making the audience question what is going to happen. Is this a potential bank robbery?

The micro feature performance is expressed again by Dalton, when he gathers the hostages to give their phones and stops a particular bank employee when he states he left his phone at home. Remorselessly he attacks the man when he found out the employee was lying. This shows how violent and serious he is to reach his motive without it being ruined or stopped by any hostages.  Again, the micro feature performance was expressed clearly by the man who owns the different branches of the bank. However, he showed more fear when he asked the woman again what branch has been robbed, making the audience question if there is more depth and history behind the story, rather than just being an ordinary bank robbery.