A must-see for many reasons

Rating: 10/10 (22 May 2008)

Before coming to "The Insider," I had no idea of Michael Mann. After watching it, I have been literally hunting for his movies around and watching them one by one. This is by far one of the BEST movies Hollywood can or will ever produce. The subject is delicate and extremely well handled; movies on whistle blowers are not uncommon, but showing the corporate corruption and the cover-ups that upper echelons of the society engage in needs some mastery over detail and know-how. The real insider for me is Michael Mann. I would be belittling Al Pacio and Crowe if I attempt to say anything about their performances in the movie; words cannot describe it. I watched the movie eight times in a space of three months and bought the DVD to watch it couple more times. It gives me the feeling that this is what any movie should be about--reality, hard core reality exposing the corruption inherent in the systems we trust in. Be it CBS or Brown and Williamson, their corporate honchos must have squirmed in their seats while watching this movie (if they had the ticker to do so, that is). The courtroom scene needs special mention: "Wipe that smirk off your face"--these six words actually set my heart pounding, making me feel as if he was shouting at me. It was so naturally done that I could almost feel I was there in the courtroom. Just watch it; no one will EVER regret to be an insider to the brilliance of THE INSIDER.