Ordinary People under Extraordinary Pressure

Rating: Null/10 (11 November 1999)

A film with not one but two martyrs. Tack on a storyline that most people have some knowledge of - the whistleblower Jeffrey Wigand and CBS Â‘60 Minutes' bungled effort to withhold his interview. What you get is Michael Mann's "The Insider", a powerful film that, in spite of its foibles, is a masterful indictment of corporate America and those people who would compromise their integrity in order to maintain the status quo. The intelligent use of close-ups and focus in/focus out scenes creates a dynamic sense of the nature of the three main characters, Mike Wallace (as played by Christopher Plummer as so sure of his persona and yet so insecure of how others judge him ), Jeffrey Wigand (played by Russell Crowe as the corporate Judas who is tormented by choices he made), and Lowell Bergman (played by Al Pacino as the Type A in-your-face personality who cared enough not to compromise his sources). This film also excels in giving you a level of dramatics and intrigue on a caliber of "All The President's Men".