I'd love to see inside the head of the fool that crewed that DOP!

Rating: Null/10 (6 March 2000)

To be perfectly honest I have no idea why I was interested in this film or why, for that matter, it turned out to be worth every penny I payed to see it. The actual story itself is as true (and somewhat boring), HOWEVER with a little help from some brilliant dialogue writers, a great director and some big name actors the film excels.
Posting a time close to three hours "The Insider" keeps you hooked until the credits and will leave you marveling at how far Russel Crowe has come from his early days as a small town bully in countless Australian feature films.
Apart from minor plot difficulties (something which obviously couldn't be helped if the factual integrity was to be maintained) the only real criticism I have of "The Insider" was the camera work. The Steadicam wasn't steady, which was just plain annoying, and the DOP seemed to have a fetish for the technique of pulling focus - an effect that tires after the tenth time it is used. Oh yeah, in the restaurant scene the boom can be seen in one of the shots. Poor form.
At the end of the day "The Insider" is a fantastic film that deserves all the accolades it may receive. However, if the photography is mentioned in any kind of positive way, my faith in the Academy Awards will be shot forever.
:)