Product: The Insider [VHS] (1999)
Rating: 5.0
Troubling times when a man takes on the machine
The machine in this case, is big tobacco. It is a giant business that is maybe too much for one man to take on. That is until a guy named Jeffrey Wigand did just that. Russell Crowe has played a lot of main parts before and after this movie, but his portrayal of this man was great. Crowe shows us a solemn, somber man who works for a large tobacco company as a scientist doing research. He has a falling out you could say, and is soon watched, harassed and blackballed. He decides to expose some major truths about what is really going on with the cigarettes and the research going into making them...well you know. Al Pacino is also in this film and does a fine job as a 60 minutes producer who tries to bring Wigand's dilemma to the people so they can see for themselves. A lot of Red tape and some big business aspects stand in the way though, and Wigand's life spirals into further decline. This is a great film and the special features show interviews with the real Mr. Wigand. I did not like Christopher Plummer portraying the part of legendary 60 minutes journalist Mike Wallace though. The two look nothing alike, and Plummer is much larger in size than Wallace. That is the only thing I found wrong with this film. It is very moving and I recommend it.