Russell Crowe shines as another glowering protagonist.

Rating: 7/10 (13 February 2005)

"The Insider" is a good movie about the topic of tobacco manipulation. Most people that I know have been aware of the dangers of smoking for a very long time and so it's really no surprise to learn that major tobacco companies make it so that cigarettes are highly addictive. Apparently this isn't supposed to be fair, especially since the CEOs of the 7 major companies all swore under oath that they didn't believe nicotine was addictive. This movie is about a scientist who worked for Brown and Williamson, the #3 tobacco company, who had knowledge that his CEO lied and therefore cast doubt on the veracity of the other 6 CEOs. So, in a nutshell, if they lied and knew their product was causing cancer deaths worldwide, they would therefore be liable and could be sued for billions of dollars. The movie centers on Al Pacino as "60 Minutes" segment producer Lowell Bergman, and glowering Russell Crowe as Jeffery Wigand, the scientist with a conscience, as they struggle to come to grips with the truth as it relates to the law and their ethics. Christopher Plummer also shines as Mike Wallace.