Exposing the truth can be riveting. . .

Rating: Null/10 (14 April 2000)

I just saw this film two weeks ago as it finished up it's theatrical release at the second-run theatres, then purchased the DVD three days ago. This is simply the best film I've seen in at least the last two years. I feel it was unfairly ignored at the box-office because the subject matter wasn't appealing enough, and it has no sex or violence to speak of. I dragged a friend with me who had no knowledge whatsoever of the film, and when it was over, he seemed to really have enjoyed it. Pacino and Crowe are excellent (as I'm sure you've heard), and even at 2hrs 40mns, the film moves along at a crisp pace. I usually am pretty suspicious of any film over two hours in length, but this one holds your interest the entire time. One point of criticism, though: There is an undeveloped (and unnecessary, in my humble opinion) subplot involving the Unabomber(!) case. I'm assuming this is because, in reality, "60 Minutes" was probably involved in this case during the story's time-period, but ultimately, this doesn't really serve any purpose in the movie. This doesn't really detract from the film, though, so it's a minor point. Hopefully, this wonderful film will get it's "second wind" (smoking pun intended!) on home video, pay-per-view, and cable. It's definitely worth 2 1/2 hours of your time, maybe on a weekend.