Perfect pacing makes this a great film

Rating: 9/10 (14 July 2004)

There are very few films that last over two and a half hours that can keep my attention from waning even just a bit. Sometimes it will just be a two second `what time is it?' check, sometimes a more involved interruption depending on the quality and pacing of the film. `The Insider' is so well done that had I not been interrupted a couple of times, I would not have strayed from the film for even a moment. Its perfect pacing takes it from `really good' status to `great' status.
Russell Crowe is unrecognizable as Jeffrey Wigand, a middle aged, pudgy and graying former tobacco industry scientist who, after being fired for expressing an unpopular opinion of their procedures, is harassed to the point of near insanity by said company when he threatens to tell all on `60 Minutes'. Al Pacino plays Lowell Bergman, a senior producer on the show who fights to get the story, then finds himself in the position of having to deal with the fact that CBS won't air the show for fear of retribution.

If this film were not a true story, it would be incredible, but the fact that it is based on true events is both mind-boggling and compelling at the same time. Wigand is an almost Shakespearean character in that he has to make some unbelievably difficult decisions, where the results aren't going to necessarily be good for anyone, and Crowe is masterful in this role. Pacino is always good, but he is all energy and fire in this film as we see him struggle with this incredible string of events. Michael Mann can't make a film under two and a half hours, but that isn't even a factor in this film because the pacing is perfect and without any dry moments or gaps. The cinematography is interesting in that the lighting almost has a blue haze to it, yet it maintains its sharpness. Unfortunately, the film has a cheesy soundtrack since Mann can't get out of the 80's, but it is a minute criticism because no film can be perfect.
Watch this film when you have a couple of hours where you are not going to be interrupted, because this is one movie that is going to hold your attention for its entirety. With tour de force performances, a compelling plot and excellent film making, `The Insider' is a film that deserves all of the accolades it received when it was released and since.
--Shelly