The Insider (1999)

Director: Michael Mann

Cast: Al Pacino as Lowell Bergman, Russell Crowe as Jeffrey Wigand, Christopher Plummer as Mike Wallace, Diane Venora as Liane Wigand, Philip Baker Hall as Don Hewitt, Lindsay Crouse as Sharon Tiller, Debi Mazar as Debbie De Luca, Stephen Tobolowsky as Eric Kluster, Colm Feore as Richard Scruggs, Bruce McGill as Ron Motley, Gina Gershon as Helen Caperelli, Michael Gambon as Thomas Sandefur, Rip Torn as John Scanlon, Lynne Thigpen as Mrs. Williams, Hallie Kate Eisenberg as Barbara Wigand

Not always, but usually a Michael Mann-directed film means good things
for movie buffs, and this is no exception.

Tremendous acting highlights this movie about a behind-the-scenes look
at a "60 Minutes" story of a man who blows the whistle on a tobacco
company. Al Pacino, as the TV show producer "Lowell Bergman," Russell
Crowe as the whistle-blower and tobacco scientist "Dr. Jeffrey
Wiegand," and Christopher Plummer as "Mike Wallace" all are riveting in
their performances. They are intense characters, as are many of the
supporting characters in this involving film.

There is little action in here but a ton of tension in the first hour
of this long (158 min.) film. The story held my interest even when the
tension left, thanks to the acting, the great cinematography, involving
music score....well, just about everything. It's simply a well-done
movie, similar to Mann's "Heat," except without the violence.

The only negative was the obvious Liberal bias, but that's not
surprising being it's about "60 Minutes." I wasn't surprised when Ken
Starr got a cheap shot, for example. This film bias could have been a
lot more blatant so I'm not complaining. Obviously, they went a
overboard in their stand against the tobacco industry, repeating the
same damaging scenes over and over. However, I appreciated they didn't
shrink from pointing out how the network was covering its own behind
even though it was hurting its most successful program.

Photographer Dante Spinelli did an incredible job making this look
fantastic despite the fact that there was no great scenery or exotic
sets. As mentioned, this is just great film-making. What else can you
say?