Excellent cinematography and music elevate a tedious story

Rating: 8/10 (8 November 1999)

In order to do justice to an actual event either in a book or in a film, it usually helps to allow adequate time to pass between the event itself and the retelling of the event. This allows authors, filmmakers, etc. time to assess the social, political, and/or historical significance of the incident and tell the story with this in mind. Unfortunately, the controversy in Mann's -The Insider- occurred only four years ago and the true, perhaps indelible impact Wigand's story had on the tobacco industry, on investigative journalism, and on America as a whole has yet to be felt.
Mann's movie certainly details a provocative--sometimes infuriating--incident, however the film entertains without providing much analysis or insight about WHY Wigand's saga is important. At over two hours, the story failed to keep my attention. The film's saving graces are solid performances by Russell Crowe, Christopher Plummer, and Al Pacino; beautiful, moody cinematography; and an excellent score which includes classical pieces, opera, and fluid, ambient synthesized music.