Product: The Insider [VHS] (1999)
Rating: 5.0
Excellent-by far one of the best films of the year...
This film is one of the most compelling, breath-taking, intense films I've seen in a long while. The film the Insider revolves around a scientist who had been formerly working for the "big tobacco" industry but quit; and although the tobacco company he worked for allowed him to quit they did force him to take a vow of secrecy to remain silent about anything going on within the tobacco industry that he might know about. However, Wigand opts to put himself and his family on the line in order to expose the sick truths behind "Big Tobacco."In order to be able to expose "Big Tobacco" Wigand is contacted by a journalist working for 60 Minutes named Lowell Bergman, who is willing to set up an interview between Wigand and 60 Minutes alum Mike Wallace (played believably by Christopher Plummer). However "Big Tobacco" will stop at nothing to stop Wigand and Bergman.The performances in The Insider are nothing less then stellar. Crowe gives a fantastic performance as Wigand, which in my opinion was a performance very worthy of an oscar. Al Pacino gives an excellent oscar worthy performace as well as journalist Lowell Bergman, and another excellent performance by Christopher Plummer as Mike Wallace of 60 Minutes, (he was very believable). So if you're looking for an intense thriller, The Insider won't dissapoint.