Ambitious, brilliantly-cast recreation of true events...

Rating: 7/10 (17 December 2010)

Russell Crowe disappears inside the role of Jeffrey Wigand, real-life ex-corporate head for the tobacco giant Brown & Williamson who was fired after opposing the company's "impact boosting" of cigarette tobacco (enhancing the nicotine to be more rapidly absorbed into the smoker's system) with flagrant disregard for the public's health considerations. Wingard is contacted by "60 Minutes" producer Lowell Bergman (Al Pacino) who convinces Wingard to tell his story to 30 million viewers, this despite legal action and ugly threats from his former employer. Director Michael Mann takes his time setting up this character-driven piece; he's careful to include lots of high drama, though one must wade through many story incidentals to get to the meat of the piece (the television news show caving under pressure from the network's legal advisers, and then admitting their cowardice and doing the right thing). The performances (which really drive the picture) are outstanding. Pacino is able to root out the helplessness of the producer's situation, feeling great empathy for his client but also with the knowledge his own career is on the line. Ethics and morality come in second in this man's circle, and standing up for one's principles is to be labeled a martyr. Christopher Plummer gives an Oscar-worthy performance as "60 Minutes" anchor Mike Wallace, and Philip Baker Hall is equally strong as show-creator Don Hewitt. Wallace and Hewitt's loyalty to each other--and how that affects their working relationship with Pacino's Bergman--provides riveting drama, while Crowe's floundering Smoking Gun (one with a hair-trigger temper) is completely realized by the actor. Though assembled in a smoothly astute manner, "The Insider" is quite long. It takes at least an hour to get cooking, yet the final events are truly gripping and moving. *** from ****