Positively riveting: ***1/2 (out of ****)

Rating: Null/10 (27 February 2000)

I've been waiting to see this film for some time now, and while one could easily accuse me of sccumbing to Academy Award hype, the truth is that planned on seeing THE INSIDER all along, but never got around to it. Now I have seen 4 out of 5 of the Best Picture Nominees (all except THE CIDER HOUSE RULES).
When I first heard about this movie and it's story, I thought, "hmmmmm.... sounds like something I'd walk out on." Well, I didn't, and I enjoyed the movie thoroughly as well. However, also I'm aware of the fact that THE INSIDER is in fact based on real life events and altered for dramatic effect, I don't remember the time when those events actually took place, or what happened (News like that never interested me that much). My opinion can be called, at its core, limited.
Now about THE INSIDER'S strength as a movie-- it has truckloads of it. The cinematography is quite edgy, and establishes a dark, uncertain tone with lots of bleak, muted colors. Mann generates tension without resorting to the standard chase scenes and shoot-outs. The actors play their characters as if there really is something tangible on the line, which helps highten the intensity. The film tackles some big issues and morals, including how a top-drawer news corporation like CBS was pressured by financial and legal issues to cut a major story. It's also about Jeffery Wigand's struggle with his conscience, his struggle against his former employers, and the hardship of him and his wife trying to accept the sacrifices they had to make.
In some ways, THE INSIDER is like a two-act play. The first half, like I said before, concentrates mostly on Wigand and his circumstances, and he is in nearly every scene. Later on, the focus shifts to Lowell Bergman and the 60 Minutes crew as a battle ensues over journalistic integrity and the consequences of airing such a revealing story on the air. Actually, I found THE INSIDER'S first half to be unquestionably stronger than its first; the emotional core becomes slightly murky later on. Minor problems aside however, THE INSIDER is a very worthy film, and possesses a kinetic flow that never stops moving. There are very few slow scenes, and if there are, I can't remember them completely.
Nothing ranks higher in THE INSIDER than the acting factor. Al Pacino is at his intense best here, even though this isn't a particularly "new" kind of role for him. He screams his head off in a lot of his movies :). Russell Crowe certainly deserved an Oscar nomination for his excellent work here. He finds every nook-and-cranny in Wigand's character. Like many memorable heroes, this guy is certainly flawed, and Crowe depicts him forcefully. Also memorable is Christopher Plummer in his version of 60 Minutes' Mike Wallace. He also suplies a great deal of intensity, and his single standout is during a scene when some of his on-air comments have been censored on a broadcast. Everyone else is solid, but I have to stop the commentary somewhere.
This is one of those films where the energy level is always high, and keeps the viewer in until the very end. The concepts will certainly confuse some people who didn't pay much attention to the real-life events based on THE INSIDER (like me), but most of the focus is on the characters here. The end result is an endlessly compelling and engaging movie that combines the intensity of a thriller and a drama into a unique hybrid.