simply superb

Rating: Null/10 (31 January 2001)

The Insider is one of the few movies that I can watch over and over again without becoming bored. Every time I watch it, I notice something new--I come away from it with more of an understanding of the brilliance of this film. Make no mistake, this is drama at its very best, with three outstanding actors--Al Pacino as 60 Minutes producer Lowell Bergman, Russell Crowe as ex-tobacco scientist Dr. Jeffrey Wigand, and Christopher Plummer as 60 Minutes' very own Mike Wallace--surrounded by an effective supporting cast.
I won't bore you with a synopsis of the plot. Too many reviewers get bogged down on plot and focus too little on what does or does not make a film work.
In the case of The Insider, everything works, with the possible exception of a bad southern accent from Diane Venora, who has some great performances under her belt (The Jackal). Let's start with the music. A lot of people said it was bizarre but worked. This couldn't be more true. One of the scores used sounds much like a chant, but it works bacause it accentuates the conflict that is Dr. Wigand's life. Among this film's most effective scenes is the one when Dr. Wigand is about to deliver a deposition and he standing before a body fo water trying to decide whether to go ahead and do it or pull out for fear of being arrested when he returns to Kentucky. You have to see it to truly comprehend the brilliance of the music of The Insider.
Not enough could be said about the performances by Russell Crowe, Al Pacino, and Christopher Plummer. These three actors are as fine as it gets. Pacino had fallen into a slump where he was over-acting a bit, as evidenced by his mediocre performance in Scent of a Woman, but he came back stronger than ever in The Insider, which was his strongest performance since The Godfather Part II. Lowell Bergman is a rebel among conformists in The Insider and Pacino captures the conflict Bergman endured during the Wigand debacle--when 60 Minutes really dropped the ball.
Plummer was brilliant as Mike Wallace. In addition to actually looking like Wallace, Plummer acted like him too. It was almost as if Wallace was playing himself in The Insider.
Russell Crowe made a statement in The Insider. Coming off an incredible performance in LA Confidential, Crowe, with his remarkable ability to play any role, proved to the world that The Insider was just the begining of a remarkable career. Crowe is now in the same category as Sean Connery, Harrison Ford, Gene Hackman, Tom Hanks, etc. He is here to stay and he is a giant.
The Insider is simply one of the top 5 best movies of the '90s, maybe of all-time. It's a classic and I recommend to anyone to see it because they won't regret it.