The Best Film of the Year

Rating: 9/10 (19 November 1999)

"The Insider" is the best film of 1999. ("Fight Club "comes close, though) Michael Mann's direction is in your face, and he develops the story perfectly. He succeds in making both of the two main leads very real and complete characters, which can be very difficult, especially since he also brought out strong performances with the supporting cast (Especially Christopher Plummer). The cinematography is excellent, and Pacino and Crowe should be nominated for their performances. (Which I assure you, they will be) Even though the film is basically all talk, it never loses your attention. (The cinematography has alot to do with that) The film runs close to three hours long and you feel it, but I think it was entirely necessary in order for you to get the feel for what the characters were going through. Mann and Pacino maintain the same great chemistry that they had in 1995's "Heat." I don't think I've ever seen a film that depicts the courage it takes to speak the truth in quite the way this was done. I voted this film a 9.