Two of the biggest stars come together to do a true story

Rating: 8/10 (2 May 2010)

I saw this movie today and this was the first movie I watched which starred either Al Pacino or Russell Crowe after I knew about them. I may have seen either of them before in other movies, but I don't recall watching either one of them previously on screen. It was coming on TV today and I knew that they starred in it and I watched it.
Lowell Bergman (Al Pacino) is a TV producer of '60 minutes' on CBS which is an explosive show revealing the darker side of society. Jeffrey Wigand (Russell Crowe) is a corporate Vice-President and Head of research & development in Brown & Williams Tobacco Company (or something). He is fired from his job as he was having a moral conflict with himself over the substances put into the tobaccos and the company felt threatened by him. They made him sign a legal confidentiality report and threatened his family. But, he wanted the truth to be told, that their tobacco was basically a drug. Thousands of lawsuits were brushed off every year by the company and he wanted the company to pay for their sins. Lowell Bergman contacts Jeffrey and they, with Mike Wallace (Christopher Plummer) as the interviewer, record Jeffrey's allegations on tape. But, due to the fact that the tobacco company could file a defamation lawsuit worth billions of dollars, CBS decides to cut out Jeffrey's interviews. In the end, Lowell gets his way and the company ends up owing $250 billion to America.
The opening scene with Lowell and Mike Wallace in Iraq establishes them as true news presenters who fight for the truth and justice. They do their work with passion and are very good at what they do. The film also gives a lot of screen time on Jeffrey's family and his wife's inner turmoil on whether she could support her husband or not, in those dangerous times. Jeffrey is 'The Insider' who has lots of information about the company's illegal ways. Though the edge of the sword was always dangling above Jeffrey's neck, the villains were never shown, except in a couple of scenes and they weren't the routine big goons, as basically the tobacco company itself was the villain. Russell Crowe impressed me a lot and all of the actors did a wonderful job in portraying this real life story. But, I don't think I become a Al Pacino or Russell Crowe fan by watching this. This isn't completely a thriller, but also drama. It was perfectly directed by Michael Mann and as I didn't know how the ending went, I enjoyed it very much.
8/10