The Insider (1999) - Movie Review

One of the most respected movies at the Oscars last year was also one of the box office's biggest duds, as The Insider failed to hit it big with audiences.

But Michael Mann's riveting and suspenseful film about the tobacco industry insider Jeffrey Wigand and the "60 Minutes" producer who tried to air what he knew is one of the best of 1999. Somehow, Mann has been able to turn a political and legal film into a highly suspenseful and fast-paced film, with great acting, a great script, and great direction. Mann uses an enormous amount of cool visual shots to make this fairly long movie entertaining, and informative.

Russel Crowe earned an Oscar nod for his portrayal of Jeffrey Wigand, and though I have heard that Wigand himself has complained about this movie, Crowe does an excellent job nonetheless. He is very believable, whether as a father, a tobacco executive, or a paranoid man. He plays all three in The Insider.

Al Pacino is Lowell Bergman, the "60 Minutes" producer who jeopardized his career to get Wigand's interview on the air. Pacino is very convincing and has several good lines, although he is a little outdone by the relatively unknown Crowe (of course, now, he is known very well).

The script is very well done, although there was a lot of stuff I didn't really understand. Some of the elements surrounding the case and so forth was a little beyond me, since, at the time this film takes place, I was still a little young to care much.

The real star of The Insider is the direction. As mentioned earlier, Mann uses tons of interesting shots to keep the physical action entertaining and movie, because the movie does span a good two hours and a half. I wasn't bored at all through the whole time, and I was actually on the edge of my seat for some of it.

The Insider is a thrilling and informative piece of work from director Michael Mann. It should be seen. Everyone knows that cigarettes are bad; The Insider tells us why we know.

This movie is lonely because people have neglected it and not written kind things about it. Please help this movie feel better about itself and write a comment or review now.

No HTML. Be kind - your mom might read what you say.

You must be logged in to comment. Log in now.
Not a member? Join for free.