Product: The Insider [VHS] (1999)
Rating: 5.0
Let's be honest . . .
Well, it's official. Michael Mann has now become one of my favorite directors. He has directed three of my favorite films: Heat, The Insider, & Collateral. Although I'm bit more for the styles of Stanley Kubrick & Tim Burton, I still admire Mann's own. His way of bringing realistic drama into his own films is a very intriguing (not to mention satisfying) experience. The flow, the realistic environments, and the refreshingly adult content that surrounds his motion pictures is something that should be fully understood especially in today's cinema. Almost every scene is an example of visual poetry: the shootout in Heat, the coyote in Collateral, the waterfall in The Last of the Mohicans, etc. The man really knows how to make a great film, and The Insider is proof of that. Made ten years ago by Touchstone, this political thriller deals with two subjects: the tobacco industry and the media. However, this doesn't move like an action adventure, complete with Colt Commandos and car chases and governmental technology. No, this moves like a Nelson DeMille thriller. It's all about dialogue, character development, and lack of glorification of any sort. This is a compelling human drama that never succumbs to melodramatic overtones.The movie is based on the true story of Jeffrey Wigand (played brilliantly by Russell Crowe), who at the time was Vice President for a tobacco company called Brown & Williamson. He has been terminated from his job, and "60 Minutes" producer Lowell Bergman (played amazingly by Al Pacino) suspects that this has to do with the whistleblower policy. The two eventually meet and Wigand explains to Bergman why he was fired. This becomes an official story for "60 Minutes," while it leads to Wigand into a courtroom where he tells the truth about Brown & Williamson. This is only the beginning. The tobacco industry starts to fight back at Wigand and "60 Minutes," and it's only a matter of chance that our two heroes will succeed in telling the truth.As I said before, Crowe and Pacino are absolutely excellent here. While not exactly looking similar to the real Wigand and Bergman, it looks like they've got the personas down to a T. The supporting cast is close to perfection. Christopher Plummer, Philip Baker Hall, Diane Venora, Colm Feore, Gina Gershon, Michael Gambon, and Bruce McGill give wonderful performances. I especially love McGill's rant during the courtroom scene: that REALLY shut his opponent up, didn't it? But I think the best thing about this movie is the script. There is solid dialogue throughout, and it really sounds like how real people would say things. Eric Roth and Michael Mann should be given props for this screenwriting. It's a shame they didn't win an Oscar, though.You know, I could go on praising this film even more, but Amazon has its limits when it comes to customer reviews. So I'll just finish by saying that this is a deeply powerful film about the tobacco industry and the media. It's a film that makes you think, makes you see through harsh reality, makes you want to see more from Mann, Pacino, and Crowe. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, and I think you will, too.Grade: A