Journalistic Integrity Under Fire

Rating: 10/10 (30 March 2014)

"Miami Vice" creator Michael Mann's hard-hitting expose about journalistic integrity in the controversial tobacco lawsuit involving whistle blower Jeffry Wigand is a devastating study about freedom of the press in a capitalistic society. Initially, when I saw "The Insider" for the first time, I thought it was going to be strictly about Wigand and the obstacles that he had to overcome to reveal the truth about the tobacco industry. Instead, "The Insider" concerns former CBS-TV producer Lowell Bergman's reputation as an honest man. Everything starts out with Bergman receiving a box of documents about the burn rate of cigarettes involved in fires that kill people who go to sleep with lighted cigarettes. Bergman peruses the documents, but he doesn't understand them so he searches for somebody who can explain to him what the documents mean. He crosses paths with a tobacco industry executive, Jeffrey Wigand (Russell Crowe of "Romper Stomper"), who has just been fired from a company because he suffers a crisis of conscience. Wigand's former employers threaten to cut all his severance package unless he inks more confidential documents. Ultimately, he refuses to concede to Thomas Sandefur's demands. Not only does Wigand lose his comfortable house but also he eventually loses his wife. Meanwhile, Bergman assures Wigand that he has his best interests at heart and he won't betray him. CBS News is set to broadcast a segment on its television magazine news program "60 Minutes" with Mike Wallace (Christopher Plummer of "Triple Cross") questioning him about the truth about nicotine and its hazards. The Big Tobacco companies swing into action and feed scandalous material to The Wall Street Journal when they are slapping restraining orders on Wigand. Interestingly enough, the state of Mississippi and Attorney General Mike Moore (Mike Moore) with Richard Scruggs depose Wigand. Just when things are looking good, CBS-TV gets a case of cold feet and runs their story without Wigand's interview. Bergman becomes a whistle blower in his own company and talks to a "New York Times"newspaper reporter about the scandal while at the same time he convinces "The Wall Street Journal" not to publish an expose about Wigand that is made up with half-truths and contradictions. In the end, CBS-TV broadcasts the Wigand interview, but Bergman quits because he knows that he cannot be honest in the future with other prospective news makers. Mann and scenarist Eric Roth deliver both barrels of a double-barreled shotgun indictment that is memorable and damning. The tobacco industry almost got away with scaring not just a whistle blower but also a national news organization. Al Pacino is wonderful as Bergman, and Russell Crowe convinces us that he is the man under the microscope who had everything to lose except his conscientiousness. People who boast about America as a bastion of freedom and journalism as an objective industry free of bias should watch this film and think about what it means. Audiences that crave action and entertainment may find this sizzling expose boring because little in the way of gripping or suspenseful action transpires during its two hour plus running time. Nevertheless, as a whistle blower saga, "The Insider" is insightful stuff that should be watched. Mann's film received seven Academy Award nominations including Best Picture.