An Excellent Corporate Thriller

Rating: 10/10 (30 October 2011)

The Insider is a corporate thriller based on the true story of a 60 Minutes television series segment, as seen through the eyes of a real tobacco executive, Jeffrey Wigand.The 60 Minutes story originally aired in November 1995 in an altered form because of objections by CBS' then- owner, Laurence Tisch, who also controlled Lorillard Tobacco.The story was later aired on February 4, 1996.It stars Al Pacino as Lowell Bergman,Russell Crowe as Jeffrey Wigand, Christopher Plummer as Mike Wallace,Bruce McGill as Attorney Ron Motley, Philip Baker Hall as Don Hewitt together with Diane Venora, Michael Gambon, Lindsay Crouse, Gina Gershon, Debi Mazar, and Colm Feore. It was adapted by Eric Roth and Michael Mann from the Vanity Fair magazine article "The Man Who Knew Too Much" by Marie Brenner. The film was also directed by Mann.
The Insider tells the true story of a man who decided to tell the world what the seven major tobacco companies knew and concealed about the dangers of their product - the cigarette. Jeffrey Wigand was a scientist employed in research for a tobacco firm, Brown and Williamson. Not long after he was fired by Brown and Williamson,Wigand came into contact with Lowell Bergman, a producer for 60 Minutes who worked closely with journalist Mike Wallace. Bergman arranged for Wigand to be interviewed by Wallace for a 60 Minutes expose on the cigarette industry, though Wigand was still bound by a confidentiality agreement not to discuss his employment with the company. Despite Wigand's willingness to talk, CBS pulled his interview from at the last minute after Brown and Williamson threatened a multi-billion dollar lawsuit. The staff of 60 Minutes and CBS News were soon embroiled in an internal struggle over the killing of the story,and Wigand found himself the subject of lawsuits and a smear campaign,without his full story reaching the public.
This is one great film expose about the truth behind the cigarette,the dangers of smoking in terms of the chemicals behind in the production of the dangerous product and the reason behind why people continue to get addicted to smoking despite the fact of the health hazards behind it.It was more than just a fascinating whistle blower about the ingredients of tobacco.
The film also consists of great performance from Pacino,Crowe and Plummer as well as Mann's brilliant direction,despite having no action scenes for which he is known for,that truly makes it a truly great film. Also,the screenplay also made the not-so-interesting story full of suspense and tension.
Overall,The Insider is one hell of an excellent film.