Product: The Insider [VHS] (1999)
Rating: 5.0
Not a boring minute to be found
At just over 2 1/2 hours, there is not a single moment wasted in this amazing picture. I've probably watched it five times now, and each time I see it I see new things and gain more appreciation for every aspect of this movie.As you probably already know, this is a film about a man who blows the whistle on Big Tobacco, putting his entire life as he knows it into complete turmoil. Russell Crowe does a superb job transforming himself into Jeffrey Wigand, commendably acting against Al Pacino, who really is doing what he always does, but here it works perfectly. Watching him take total charge of each moral argument he is forced to confront is really a blast.The camerawork is superb--every shot has purpose and meaning, and usually is visually exciting in some way or another, right down to simply watching a character move through a hallway. The choice of settings and lighting are constantly pleasing and noteworthy. Even the use of the hand-held camera a la NYPD Blue, a technique that I usually find completely annoying, was appropriate and integrated nearly seamlessly into the general flow of images.Finally, the music is done in the same manner as in Heat, another Mann film, in the form of mostly already composed pieces by already known artists. Mann employs a wide range of artists in his general montage--the ones I noticed outright were Lisa Gerrard, Einsturzende Neubauten, and Massive Attack in the closing scene in a trip-hop pulse that fits the whole wrap up perfectly.Even with the serious nature of the subject matter I have been able to watch this movie over and over, and I will continue to pull it out and share it with whoever will watch.