Best Picture of 1999

Rating: 9/10 (1 March 2000)

Let me start off by saying that i don't like Michael Mann. I thought "Heat" was a long, boring waste of my time and I never liked "Miami Vice". That is why it is with great surprise that I announce that "The Insider" is the best film of 1999. I won't get too much into it, but this film tells a riveting story with great acting. It is well written and beautifully filmed. The cinematography by Dante Spinotti is outstanding. he worked on "L.A. Confidential" which had a great look as well. If we think of cinematography as the use of light in film (which is what it is), then this film gets it just right. The scene that really stuck with me was when Pacino is sitting in the hotel lobby waiting for Russell Crowe. The shadows in that lobby just lend a whole mysterious tone to their meeting and the way Pacino's whole face is in the dark except for his searching eyes is wonderful. This film is what a best picture should be: great story, great acting, great technical work. Like "Titanic" except that didn't have a great story or great acting. It also has a great group of smaller role actors which lend it a richness so many other films lose because they focus too much on the stars. Phillip Baker Hall, Christopher Plummer and Bruce McGill (forever D-Day in "Animal House") are just a few of the names that add to the greatness of this film. Whod've thought Michael Mann could pull this off? Not me. Thanks to the Academy for forcing me to see this film.