Harrowing story of tobacco scientist, turned whistleblower

Rating: 10/10 (22 August 2000)

"The Insider" was a story about having it all, then taking a risk and losing it all. Jeffrey Wigand was a tobacco scientist, but quit because of his guilty conscious in his questionable line of work. He comes into contact with the producer of "60 Minutes", Lowell Bergman, who asks him to bring his story into the public eye. Wigand has information about big tobacco companies knowing about the addictive chemicals of tobacco, and other dangerous details, but not telling the public, and even lying about it to Congress. Big Tobacco fights back by trying to dig up as much dirt as possible about Wigand and even threatening him and his family. The movie is tense, scary, and the worst part is, it's true. It's hard to look at a cigarette ad without thinking about scumbags after you see this movie. An excellent movie with a fantastic plot and incredible cinematography.