The Big Lie

Rating: 9/10 (3 March 2007)

Jeffrey Wigand (Russel Crowe) put it all on the line: his family, he reputation, his career, and his life. He had a story to tell about the addictive properties of tobacco and it was eating at him until he got it out. Lowell Bergman (Al Pacino) of CBS News went to bat and did everything in his power to get his story out. He ended up walking away from his job also in the effort. The story made it out and Big Tobacco paid billions in the familiar tobacco settlements. This is the story of the man who brought them down.
The acting was brilliant and the directing was masterful. Crowe, director Michael Mann and The Insider were all beat out in the 2000 Academy Awards by American Beauty. What a shame as this was clearly the superior film.