Inside Man

The 2006 American crime thriller directed by Spike Lee and written by Russell Gewirtz centers on a meticulously planned bank heist on Wall Street in New York City. Mastermind Dalton Russell (Clive Owen) and his team seize the bank, taking hostages and creating a complex scenario by disguising themselves and the hostages in identical coveralls to hinder identification. NYPD Detective Keith Frazier (Denzel Washington) is assigned to negotiate while simultaneously dealing with internal investigations into his conduct. Bank owner Arthur Case (Christopher Plummer), concerned about the contents of his safe deposit box, hires influential fixer Madeleine White (Jodie Foster) to protect compromising documents related to his past collaboration with the Nazis. As events unfold, Frazier begins to suspect that the heist's objective is not monetary gain but the concealment of Case's secrets. The film also features Chiwetel Ejiofor (Detective Bill Mitchell) and Willem Dafoe (Captain John Darius). The film received positive reviews from critics and grossed over $184 million worldwide against a $45 million budget, becoming the highest-grossing film in Spike Lee's career.