Mann is a Master of the Character Film

Rating: 9/10 (19 September 2000)

Upon seeing Russel Crowe's great performance in "Gladiator," I decided to check out his Oscar-nominated role in "Insider." While his performance was subtle and convincing and definitely worthy of a nomination, I was more taken aback by Mann's directorial style and his fine attention to characters.
"The Insider" is definitely not your standard thriller. Events do not move the story along here as much as characters do. Characters'internal conflicts, doubts, fears, and uncertainties are what drives and raises this film above the usual fare.
It's Mann's novelisitc approach to the story that makes it such a refreshing change of pace. He avoids almost all thriller cliches: there is no excessive profanity, no shootouts, no fistfights, no murders. The result is a mesmerizing, totally involving, refreshing, and frighteningly realistic film.
Russel Crowe's subtle, brooding, and humanistic portrayal of Dr. Wigand and the loss and forced change of his life and family bring a deep emotion to the film. Wigand falling down a hill in his yard is one of the film's most unsettling scenes. The rest of the ensemble cast also does well, but Crowe's haunting performance overshadows even veteran Al Pacino.
Definitely not a conventional, over-the-top thriller, Mann's character tour-de-force is a welcome change to a genre that usually makes the viewer suspend belief. "Insider" does not ask the viewer to believe the incredible; instead it makes the viewer understand the truth.
9 out of 10