Tension, Conviction and Emotion

Rating: 8/10 (10 November 2019)

The Insider is a film which easily could have easily been boring and forgettable, yet the tight script, superb cinematography and outstanding performances of both Russell Crowe and Al Pacino make it a compelling viewing experience. Michael Mann did an outstanding job of maintaining tension throughout the film, perhaps best exemplified in the scenes with lots of yelling, such as Wigand calling up Bergman after his confidence had been betrayed, the courtroom scene and the multiple times Bergman argued with his superiors.
On the negative side, I found the accent of Wigand's wife (Diane Venora) very off-putting and felt that maybe 5-10 minutes of the film could have been shaved off.