Continuity mistake: As Dalton stands inside the bank vault staring at the cash, the scene jumps from a wide, distant shot, to medium, to close-in, just outside the cage. Another robber stands just outside and between jumps his gun position shifts from relaxed to raised to relaxed again.
Inside Man (2006)
Directed by: Spike Lee
Starring: Christopher Plummer, Denzel Washington, Willem Dafoe, Jodie Foster, Clive Owen
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Suggested correction: Whilst this is true, I don't think it is a continuity mistake. It looks to me like it is intended to suggest the passage of time between each of the three shots.
Continuity mistake: The handwriting and capitalization written on the desk drawer sent by the robbers containing their demands changes when Detective Frazier discovers that it's bugged. For example, "SemTex" changes to "SEMTEX" and "CAMeras" changes to "camerAS".
Continuity mistake: In one scene, Clive Owen takes a piece of pizza and a bottle of water to the young boy who is being held hostage. The piece of pizza stays intact throughout the scene even though the boy is obviously eating it.
Trivia: Most of the interrogation scenes in the movie were ad-libbed.
Dalton Russell: Fact is, all lies, all evil deeds, they stink. You can cover them up for a while, but they don't go away.
Detective Frazier: Everybody, relax. Calm down. Calm down. Calm the fuck down!
Keith Frazier: Sorry to interrupt you, Mister Mayor, but there's an old American saying: When there's blood on the streets, somebody's gotta go to jail.
Question: Dalton Russel hides behind a fake wall in the supplies room. This would make the room smaller and items on shelves wouldn't fit the same way anymore. How wouldn't any of the staff notice this change in room size?
Answer: The hiding space was narrow and the change was unnoticeable to staff. Also, this is a large office supplies room that few people access, spend little time in, or take much notice. Therefore, its unlikely the altered space would be immediately detected. Everything was carefully planned, so the fake wall and the arrangement of the boxes and other supplies would have been considered. I have to add that it's a bit of a plot hole considering the tall, heavy metal shelving on the three sides that are loaded with supplies would take considerable time and labor to move and rearrange to accommodate building the wall and in the relatively short amount of time the robbers are in the bank. Realistically, perhaps it could be done, but probably not that quickly by one or two people.
Question: After the robbery and once the dust settled (business was back-to-normal at the bank, etc.) why did the bank president not immediately go to open the safety deposit box and see what happened to its contents? He knew it was the target of the robbery. Reason would dictate that one of the first things he would have done would be to open the box and see what was there... Not leave it to the NYPD to open it and discover a mostly empty box except for the big ring, chewing gum and note.
Answer: The aforementioned answer fails to keep in mind he is the owner of the bank and could've have done this hours before the bank was opened and or hours after the bank was opened. Dalton spent 3 days behind the wall. Mr Case had a special fixer, and she had the mayor in her pocket. It is a reasonable assumption that a billionaire like Aruthur Case would be able to have the contents of his safety deposit box removed with little to no problem. One way is "yes Mr. Mayor I will be giving you a blank check for your reelection campaign." The issue is this was a major plot hole that almost ruined a otherwise great and well thought out movie.
Answer: Arthur Case did not want anyone to know about the safe deposit box or what was in it. In fact, the box's number had been left off the bank records. The police did not immediately know if anything had been stolen during the robbery. Case going to the bank to check on the box, would only have drawn attention to it. The contents, the diamonds, were a link to Case's criminal Nazi past that he wanted kept hidden. It was only by chance that Detective Frazier discovered the box and the clues that had been left inside it by Dalton Russell.
Question: Why wouldn't the cops compare bank records/accounts against the name of each hostage? This would have narrowed down who didn't work at the bank and/or have a bank account. This information would give the cops suspicion of the hostages that could have been the robbers, since they didn't work at the bank or have an account, there is no reason to be in the bank in the first place.
Answer: This was a well-planned heist down to the last detail, according to Dalton Russell. While some of the robbers may be bank employees or had taken out bank accounts prior to the heist, probably at different times and over a staggered period, others could claim they were only at the bank that day to open an account, procure a loan, or for some other service (i.e. a safety deposit box). Only Dalton would not need an explanation as he never posed as a hostage. He remained hidden until walking out days later.
