I prefer to nap in quiet

Rating: 4/10 (26 February 2001)

God this movie felt like it would never end! It made all its points 70 times and got to be an ordeal for me right away.
Crowe is wildly miscast and not very good - was I supposed to see him as a regular guy doing the right thing, or as a martyr, or as a victim? Crowe does not tip his hand enough, for me at least. I never felt one way or the other about the man.
Pacino was good and not over the top, which is nice for a change. The rest of the cast is largely wasted, especially Debi Mazar and Gina Gershon.
Best scene was Wigand's deposition, involving his lawyer (Bruce McGill, who was a cop in "My Cousin Vinny" and a jerk-in-a-suit in "Silkwood") and Wings Hauser (the deadly pimp in the fantastic "Vice Squad"). The entire movie should have had the energy these actors put into their scene together.

By the way, did Diane Venora turn into Jessica Lange, or is she just taking her rejected scripts?