The Insider

Rating:
Summary: Adam Smith and the tobacco Industry
Review: The moral philosopher and economist Adam Smith warned that businessmen are inclined to collude together to defraud the consumer. Indeed, the foremost champion of capitalism did not shy away from the reality of human nature. Legitimate self interest regretfully sometimes deteriorates into vile and despicable behavior. The Insider primarily deals with the moral corruption of the tobacco industry. Russell Crowe brilliantly portrays Jeffrey Wigand, the real-life scientist who blew the whistle regarding the lies told to the general public. The latter were deceived into believing that tobacco products were not really all that dangerous. Alas, Wigand pays an enormous price for this act of courage. He trusts Lowell Bergman (Al Pacino), a producer for Sixty Minutes to put his story before the American people. The top executives at CBS NEWS, however, are reluctant to rock the boat. We are soon disgusted by their kowtowing to the powers that be within the board rooms of the major tobacco companies.

The movie admittedly is not a completely accurate depiction of the actual events. Nonetheless, it's still loyal to the main themes of Wigand's predicament. The scientist is persecuted by the legal teams representing the tobacco interests for allegedly violating a contractual agreement to keep his mouth shut. In other words, evil is to be hidden from view---or you will be sued! This great film will remind one that laissez faire capitalism is inherently impossible. There will always be a need for government oversight and media investigations of wrongdoing. Capitalism may very well be the best economic system ever devised, but continuous check and balances are mandatory to preserve both its viability and integrity. I wholeheartedly recommend that you see The Insider. It will give both the Ayn Rand acolytes and the followers of Ralph Nader much to think about.

Rating:
Summary: a gripping drama which comes unravelled
Review: Michael Mann's THE INSIDER is a gripping drama. It involves Al Pacino as Bergman, a producer for the CBS news show 60 Minutes; this producer contacts Jeff Wigand (played by Russell Crowe) to help him decipher some tobacco company documents. Bergman soon realizes that Wigand has much more to say. As former head of research for a major USA tobacco company, Wigand knows that executives perjured themselves before Congress when they testified that nicotine was not addictive.

The movie concerns Bergman's battle to get Wigand to testify, as well as the unravelling of Wigand's family after death threats are made on them. Later, Wigand testifies, but CBS' corporate office "encourages" CBS News to run a version of the show without a Wigand interview.

"The Insider" of the title is surely Wigand, but it could also easily refer to Bergman, as the man inside the news industry who made this all happen.

Michael Mann's directing is expert, and the drama is exciting throughout, until the last 20 minutes or so. The story begins to unravel, and the movie doesn't end as tightly as it should. Still, this excellent film was nominated for several Oscars, and it is well worth your time. Both Pacino and Russell Crowe turn in excellent performances, and Gina Gershon shines in a supporting role. Christopher Plummer is awesome and terrifying as Mike Wallace-- that's the portrayal I will never forget.

Four stars

Rating:
Summary: What's Wrong With This Picture?
Review: For the most part this movie is superbly acted and well filmed. Russell Crowe, one of the best things that ever happened to Australia, is perfectly cast as Jeffrey Wigand, the scientist whistle-blower who is fired from Brown & Williamson Tobacco Company. Christopher Plummer actually resembles the character he plays, Mike Wallace of CBS Sixty Minutes. Al Pacino should tone down his shouting performance a notch or two, however. The movie got all kinds of nominations for Oscar awards when it was released.

So what's wrong with this picture? The same thing that's wrong with another Russell Crowe movie "A Beautiful Mind" and Oliver Stone's earlier movie about the Kennedy assassination. They are all--what an awful word--"docudramas." The viewer is told as the credits go up at the end of this movie that some things have been fictionalized for the "sake of drama." This is a cruel irony since the movie is all about integrity. Surely the "real" story of the cruel joke tobacco companies have played on an unwitting public for years would have been enough to intrigue an audience and sustain a hard-hitting documentary.

The movie is so well-done. I just wish I knew what is real and what isn't here--if we only had a fire wall between fiction and investigative journalism/movies in this country-- surely we are sophisticated enough to handle such a division.

Rating:
Summary: Michael Mann's Masterpiece
Review: From the first image, the viewer is immediately thrust into a situation with no explanation and no dialogue. It takes a few seconds before it is revealed to be a blindfolded man who is being driven through a busy, noisy Middle Eastern city. What's going on here? Who is he? The rush of noises and images is an assault on the senses. The blindfolded man, Lowell Bergman (Pacino), is here to set up an interview with the Sheik for 60 Minutes. Michael Mann introduces Bergman in this fashion to grab the audience's attention with a single detail and then gradually expands out to the bigger picture, which symbolizes the film's structure and its style. The events in the picture are created from a single event and everything grows from that one incident.

This scene establishes the no-nonsense tone of the movie and the professionalism of the characters. Lowell Bergman is a worldly man who is not afraid to speak his mind. He is willing to go, literally, blind into a potentially dangerous situation to get what he wants. He is a consummate professional who knows how to handle things: the quintessential Mann protagonist. In a way, the professional nature of Mann's characters is reminiscent of the no-nonsense characters that populate the films of Howard Hawks and Don Siegel.

Jeffrey Wigand (Crowe)'s introduction is also important in how it establishes his character. He is shown in the foreground of the scene but is out of focus. There is a party going on in the background that is in focus but we cannot hear it. Wigand is almost obscured by the party goers who are oblivious to him. Wigand is all alone in his office which establishes right away that he is an isolated protagonist. This is reinforced by the shot of him in his office: it is dark, he is alone, very quiet.

While the family life scenes in Heat felt weak and under-developed, they are much stronger and are more crucial to the narrative in The Insider. It doesn't hurt that he's got an excellent cast here: Lindsay Crouse, Diane Venora, Christopher Plummer, Philip Baker Hall, et al.

One of Mann's strengths is how he conveys expositional dialogue. This is very difficult without boring an audience conditioned to tune out during long, talky scenes. However, a scene between Bergman and his co-workers over lunch works because of how Mann shoots and edits the scene. They are sitting around talking and brainstorming about Wigand and the danger of interviewing him. There is a lot of exposition and facts about tobacco being thrown around but Mann uses multiple camera set-ups and has such talented actors speaking the dialogue that it keeps everything interesting. There are a lot of different camera angles in this scene but the editing is not done in a rapid-fire haphazard fashion like in a Michael Bay film where no shot lasts for more than thirty seconds. There is the feeling that Mann knows what an edit means and that they are not intrusive but rather allow the scene to flow organically.

The scene between Bergman and Wigand in the Japanese restaurant is the centerpiece of the film; much in the same way that the Lecktor/Graham conversation in Manhunter and the Hanna/McCauley restaurant scene in Heat are important because they all represent the meeting of the driving forces of their respective films. The characters meet, verbally spar with each other, convey, either implicitly or explicitly, their worldview and most important sort things out between each other. The dialogue in this scene really crackles and pops with intensity.

The DVD is a bit of a disappointment. While the transfer is top notch and the audio is fantastic, the lack of extras is a missed opportunity to be sure. This film deserves the deluxe Criterion Collection treatment. Mann has been revisiting some of his films lately, with a new edition of Manhunter with an audio commentary and new 2-DVD special editions of Heat and Ali on the horizon. Who knows?

Rating:
Summary: Smoking is Hazardous to Your Health...Really?
Review: Michael Mann has directed so many great films--The Last of the Mohicans and my personal favorite, Heat (also with Pacino)--was finally acknowledged for his work with this fantastic piece of film about a whistle-blower who has information that would expose big trouble for Big Tobacco.

Al Pacino is convincing yet again as 60 Minutes producer Lowell Bergman, and should have switched spots in the Nominations chair at the Oscars and all those other fake Awards shows with Russell Crowe's in many ways equal performance as insider Jeffrey Wigand. The real acting that should have been recognized in this movie is Christopher Plummer's dead-on impersonation of 60 Minutes anchor Mike Wallace, whose towering, booming voice dominates this movie.

There are three reasons the unknowing viewer would not watch this riveting movie: It's length (160 mins.), it's subject matter (smoking and TV journalism) and dramatic tone. For one, although somewhat slow-paced, this movie would hold interest for mostly anybody who is ready to sit down and watch a movie. Secondly, this film is not about the tobacco industry or TV journalism. It is about one man's struggle to come out and admit to the entire country that he has wrongfully with-held evidence that he knows and so does everyone else who works at these places that tobacco contains toxins that will kill you. Thirdly, this movie is a thriller, keeping you, like I said, on the edge if you hold an interest through the movie. If you are a fan of any of the actors, of the CBS television news show or interested in the subject matter, none of these will be a problem. Sit back, relax, and get involved in this film because if you do, it will prove to be an excellent movie experience.

DVD extras, like every other Disney-released DVD, are minimal. There is a 7-minute "documentary"--I don't know what you'd call it but it isn't that--but holds some interest because it shows some interviews with the actors and the real Lowell Bergman and Jeffrey Wigand. There's also an "Inside a Scene" feature that would be so much more rewarding had they done the same for the entire movie, and also a great preview. The anamorphic 2.35:1 transfer ratio of the DVD is pleasing, yet clarity is sometimes dimmed. This movie is a smart buy as it is a great movie that is worth your money and viewing.

Rating:
Summary: Intriguing....Insightful...Intense...Incredible!
Review: When I rented this tape from Blockbuster, I didn't expect this picture to be as good as I realized it was after I watched it and thought about it. Many people have criticized the cinematography and pace of this film, but I found these to be all the m ore intriguing. Many times, the lack of light adds suspense and in my opinion, added much to this movie. While I don't think this movie was the best picture of 1999 (American Beauty clearly deserved this honor), it was the 2nd best. This is the kind of film that, with most, is either loved or hated. I hadn't been a particular fan of Michael Mann before, but this totally changed that. Mann's incredible interest to detail almost makes the film, and Pacino's performance, that some even consider lackluster, in my opinion nearly outshines others. Russell Crowe as Jeffrey Wigand probably deserved best actor, but Spacey in Beauty showed those same qualities as Pacino in this film; Pacino should have been up for, if not won, best

supporting actor. Another award-caliber performance was Diane Venora's role as Crowe's wife, Liane Wigand-it was like she was real. This might be the feeling of the entire film-like it's real. Panoramic views and intense close ups make you feel like you're in there with Wigand and Bergman. With two of my top 5 choices in the Academy's as well, I feel this may have been one of those years where you can actually relate with the Academy's selections; the Insider totally supports this. Some may find it overly long, some may find it slow, but those with the intellectual capacity to sit still for twenty minutes will be pleasantly rewarded with a splendid movie. A strong five stars!

Rating:
Summary: I kept waiting for something to justify the build up.
Review: Full of portentious music and camera angles, The Insider plays like a story that is about to reveal a mystical, transforming truth, or at least something shocking. But that's the problem. The movie isn't about a network news show cow-towing to financial pressures. Sure, that story is here, but it never becomes the major focus of the film. And the movie isn't about one man and his crisis of conscience or character. Again, we are shown the thin, superficial layers of this personal struggle, but not much more. Instead, the movie drills into, and focuses on relentlessly, the "secret" this "insider" wants to tell the world, but can't. And that point is driven home in so many different ways--as if Jeffrey Wygand (who I suppose is the main character) has something extraordinarily interesting and devastating to reveal, and that the world will change as a result of him going public.

That's the tragedy of The Insider. Because now, a few years of perspective later, we realize that Wygand's inside story is both obvious and relatively unimportant. Sure, it caused some big tobacco settlements to be struck, but it packs relatively little dramatic punch. And so all this pomp and circumstance about his revelations and their impact on society at large has no legs. And the loud, pretentious soundtrack, the slow motion effects, the bombastic set-up, well, it's a set-up for disappointment. It's a bit like setting your home movies to a Wagnerian opera.

I gave the movie a three because I thought Pacino's and Plummer's performances, and to a slightly lesser extent, Crowe's, merited it. Plus, being inside the conflict within CBS was fascinating.

Rating:
Summary: An exciting look at a disturbing story
Review: The Insider succeeds as a thriller while tackling the difficult job of a controversial news story. It is about Jeffrey Wigand, the Brown & Williamson executive who wanted to tell of Big Tobacco's lies to CBS' 60 Minutes, and that network's refusal to air the story. Russell Crowe gives a fantastic performance that not only should be remembered at Oscar time, but should guarantee that he will become one of the top actors in the future. Al Pacino is very good (as usual) as Lowell Bergman, the renegade producer who fights with CBS and Wigand in order to save Wigand's story. Christopher Plummer mimics Mike Wallace perfectly, and the rest of the cast are all good. But most of all, it is Michael Mann's direction that makes this film work. It moves at a frenetic pace, and pushes the audience to feel the tension and frustration of the story. This film has not performed well financially, and that's sad; audiences may feel that they already know this story. That's too bad - The Insider is a terrific film which will be remembered for years to come.

Rating:
Summary: Phenomenal look at the battle between morality and money
Review: 60 Minutes' famous journalistic lense is turned back on itself in one of the most exciting dramatic films of 1999. Aside from the great performances by nearly all concerned, the story is - from start to finish - riveting.

At its core, it's the battle of one ordinary man's battle between losing everything he holds dear, family and reputation, and what he knows to be the right thing - exposing the tobacco industry's efforts to chemically engineer cigarettes to be more addictive. Along the way, watch as 60 Minutes exec. producer Don Hewitt is seen caving to corporate pressure to cut the story to shreds because the corporate division is concerned the segment may lead to a lawsuit that will jeopardize an unannounced sale of the network to Westinghouse and the resulting big bonuses and salaries to corporate executives and a sleazy lawyer (is there any other kind?) delisciously played by Gina Gershon.

Russell Crowe, Al Pacino and Christopher Plummer hold nothing back in their performances. For anyone who's ever been curious about how a news organization works (or stumbles occasionally), this film provides the insight. The DVD is a wonderful transfer, also.

Rating:
Summary: WAY OVERRATED HYPOCRISY
Review: "Issues" liberals may be people of conscience with good intentions who give of their time, energy and money for a variety of causes to better society, usually by helping disadvantaged kids or the afflicted. Hooray for them. They cannot get too much applause for that. But they jumped on the anti-tobacco bandwagon, which is in my view real hypocrisy. First, Hollywood always displays macho men and femme fatale women smoking cigarettes and looking cool. Tobacco has been around for centuries. It is a legal product that people want. The fact that it is bad for you is simply common knowledge, yet trial lawyers, the biggest Democrat special interest group, file nefarious multi-million dollar class action lawsuits and tort claims against tobacco companies, as if some plaintiff who smoked for 50 years before getting lung cancer was forced by the company to do so.
During the Clinton years, the Democrats jumped on this issue like there was no tomorrow, actually making government ads against legal American tobacco corporations and the tobacco industry in a move that cannot be legal, civilly and maybe Constitutionally. These ads typically show a couple of (always) white tobacco execs plotting to poison kids, then laughing about it. Turn this ad around and direct it at anybody else and the hue and cry would be endless. These companies contribute enormous taxes and employ thousands. I myself was addicted to chewing tobacco (Copenhagen) for 16 years. I knew I had to quit, tried several times, but went back to it. I knew the dangers of snuff and that it was a disgusting habit. Nobody dragged my arm. I chose to do it, chose to quit, girded my will power and accomplished this task. Period. Just like George W. Bush when he quit drinking.
Speaking of alcohol, this is worse than tobacco. It causes drunk driving deaths and has to be as unhealthy as smoking cigarettes, but it is not a target. On top of that, the real kicker is that if you go to Hollywood parties, or hang out at certain industry hot spots in Studio City, Universal City, Beverly Hills, or Santa Monica, you will find movie executives puffing on huge cigars like the one Bill Clinton asked Monica to use as a phallic. Such hypocrisy.
Russell Crowe played a tobacco exec a few years ago opposite Al Pacino in "The Insider", a film that never got anywhere. The crux of the film was that Brown & Williamson, a tobacco road company with a long, venerable tradition in old Carolina, had...shock...hid the fact that cigarettes are bad for people. For decades.
Really? Bad for people?
Basically they went out and advertised their product like any other capitalist organization, in an effort to get people to buy it. People buy tobacco for the same reason I used to buy it. They know it is bad for them. They joke and call them "cancer sticks." Oh, but kids are being duped, they say. There is no group of individuals on Earth more acutely aware of the danger of smoking than kids, to my knowledge. When my daughter was six or seven she was all over this issue. These same anti-tobacco crusaders are the same ones who will argue six ways from Sunday that marijuana should be legal, too. Let them stop abortion before stopping smoking.

STEVEN TRAVERS
AUTHOR OF "BARRY BONDS: BASEBALL'S SUPERMAN"
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