Excuse me while I put out my cigarette

Rating: 7/10 (28 September 2002)

Interesting quasi docu-drama investigation, well played out by the principal actors; not without the usual doses of tremendism, this film narrates how a sacked cigarette-company worker and a CBS newsreporter manage to bring the big tobacco companies to justice. Lots of tense moments and the usual clashes among all those participating, as to be expected in any kind of US-type drama film. The Pacino/Crowe/Plummer trio is pretty fine, and the rest of the cast carry out their duties adequately.
However, mostly due to the complex nature of the film's subject matter a lot of the would-be impact message gets lost on the way: tobacco kills; cigarettes can cause all kinds of cancer  but this is mostly due to all kinds of chemicals added to the nicotine by the cigarette manufacturers. The original cigarette, as found among South American Indians and brought back to Europe were as harmless as hashish, precisely because in both cases the product was purely natural.
An interesting film quite intelligently put together. Unfortunately I began smoking when there were no warnings like `cigarettes are harmful to your health' nor any other kind of anti-tobacco social feeling. Excuse me while I put out my cigarette.
Now, where was I? Oh, yes: I've just been a couple of months in the dear old U.K. for the first time in 22 years. What a surprise! I could not smoke almost anywhere without asking permission first! The same, even harder, was in Australia two years ago  even in cafés I had to ask permission to smoke. I muchly fear that over 40 years inhaling those death.. I mean delightful fumes, it is too much for me to give up this filthy habit.
If only for this reason, `The Insider' is worth a viewing. The good news for shareholders is that US-brand cigarettes are on the increase in Africa, Asia, South America .. but we need not worry about all those people, do we?