The Insider
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Movie Reviews of The Insider
Movie Review: Riveting movie about how Mike Wallace buckled over to CBS bigwigs and big tobacco
Summary: 5 Stars
Everyone does a great job of acting. I forgot this was a movie as I watched it. I was outraged that the poor smuck that trusted 60 MINUTES to run his expose of the tobacco industry was abandoned by Mike Wallace and his gang and that he lost everything, his retirement income, his home and his wife and litle girls, while Wallace's big worry was how he would be remembered after he retired from 60 MINUTES. Movie Review: Powerful film that asks some startling questions we do well to find the answers to...
Summary: 5 Stars
If `Gladiator' is responsible for introducing me to the one we know as Russell Crowe then `The Insider' is responsible for cementing in my psyche the fact that he is capable of just about anything (on screen that is). `The Insider' is a far cry from `Gladiator', that's for sure, but Russell Crowe's performance is just as if not even more powerful than his Oscar winning portrayal of General Maximus. `The Insider' is a dramatic look at the world of politics, in both that of big business and journalism and it does a fantastic job of establishing a view we all can share, letting each and every one of us see for ourselves the good, the bad and the ugly side of it all. Michael Mann delivers an edge of your seat thriller that is not your conventional thriller. I feel the need to say that because if you walk into this film expecting to see something flashy and, for lack of a better word, `commanding' (in a purely Hollywood, Blockbuster sense of the word) then you will be sorely disappointed. If you walk into this film expecting to see a drama that will force you to think and comprehend what you are witnessing then by all means, sit back and enjoy.
`The Insider' recounts the true story (at least for the most part it's true) of `60 Minutes' insider Jeffrey Wigand, a former tobacco executive who breaks his contractual agreements and feeds information, confidential information, to `60 Minutes' producer Lowell Bergman. This causes major problems for Wigand and it affects him drastically, causing problems within his family, his marriage but also within the pit of his soul. Wigand is tortured by his decisions for they present him a moral dilemma that he can't quite ascertain the correct answer to. As Wigand struggles with his own demons Bergman becomes increasingly insistent and this presents Bergman with his own morality questions that he must decipher himself.
Mann's direction creates a sense of tension, of uneasiness that manifests itself brilliantly within certain sequences of the film. When Wigand is at the driving range for instance the viewer finds himself at the edge of his seat, hair standing on end, holding his breath until the scene is over and all is well. Mann just has a masterful way of unnerving his audience, unraveling the surroundings of his film in such a way that we are left speechless (check out `Collateral' as well for the same effect). The script, written by Mann and Eric Wroth (based on the article by Marie Brenner entitled `The Man Who Knew Too Much') also helps in this regard for it fleshes out the characters so well we become entangled in their plights and emotionally invest ourselves in their situation.
The biggest asset to this film though is the incredible cast, Crowe especially (so I'll get to him last). Al Pacino has faltered quite a bit in recent years, never really delivering quite like he used to, but here he manages to muster up his flare of yesteryear and deliver a top notch and commanding performance. Christopher Plummer is also very well used as Mike Wallace. His performance is very well grounded and memorable. Diane Venora doesn't have a lot to do here but lend support to Crowe and she does a fine job at that. Certain scenes really flesh out her performance, especially the scene when she finds a message on her computer. Philip Baker Hall is always a delight to watch and his contribution to this film does not go unnoticed.
That brings us to Crowe, an actor of whom I have no shame in admitting my unfailing devotion and utter admiration. As Jeffrey Wigand, Crowe does what we look for in a performance...he loses himself in his character. This is something I've always admired about Crowe's work but I don't feel that any performance of his to date comes close to the power behind that of Jeffrey Wigand. This performance is probably my favorite interpretation of a real person in recent years, maybe ever. What makes this such a commanding performance is that Crowe didn't have a gimmick to work with here; he just had a story to tell. Jeffrey Wigand wasn't eccentric, he didn't have a disability...he was just an average person. So what I mean to say here is that what Crowe did with Wigand is much more difficult that, say what Hoffman did with Truman Capote or what Jamie Foxx did with Ray Charles. There is no `mimicry' here; there is no legend to channel. This is just flawless acting.
Crowe does so much acting with his face it becomes impossible not to get lost in his stare. The ways his eyes seem to lose all their valiant energy expertly depict his almost hopeless state as the film progresses. We can read every emotion, from confusion to fear, misery and dread to that devastating feeling of loss and regret that flood his eyes as he watches his world unwind. I love Kevin Spacey, and I love his performance in `American Beauty' but there's no doubt in my mind that Russell Crowe gave the performance of the year in 1999.
`The Insider' is a film that will mesmerize and entertain you, make you think and maybe even make you worry but in the end it will make you realize that not all decisions are easy ones to make and not all questions, especially of the moral kind, have a right or wrong answer. Sometimes we are left to find our own `right' answer and just pray that it doesn't destroy us in the end.
Movie Review: Excellent
Summary: 5 Stars
I have read a few reviews that question the historical accuracy of all the details, and I do not have enough knowledge to know whether it is accurate on every point or not, nevertheless, this is an excellent, contemporary drama.
It is extremely realistic whether it is perfectly accurate or not. Again, I do not know if it is or it isn't.
This is the movie, to me, that really showed Crowe's versatility as an actor. He really is outstanding in this movie. When you watch this movie, he portrays Jeffrey Wigand so well it is hard to believe it is Russell Crowe at times.
Crowe brilliantly portrays the moral conflict within Wigand (whether that actually happended or not) as well as the fear and paranoia he experienced. The journalists and lawyers are all shown in a very realistic manner, which all shows the ordeal Wigand had to have endured during this process.
Even though he made no attempt to look like him during this movie, I found Plummer's portrayal of Mike Wallace to be fascinating. It is hard to put my finger on it, but he really brought a presence to the screen and I loved every scene he was in.
This is an exceptional movie. Great acting, great direction, strong tension and drama, very realistic, and a great story to boot. And although it would have been easy to jump on the anti-tobacco bandwagon and turn this into a political statement, he never does. Although I am no fan of big tobacco, I am no fan of Hollywood politics either.
One of my top 10 movies.
Movie Review: Widescreen on a full screen: an irritable band aid makes
Summary: 5 Stars
a great movie into visual pain as 2/3's of your screen is blacked out while you peer into this rectangular lens much like watching a partial eclipse of the moon. What great executive made the decision to pass out half a movie when you should get a whole? Movie Review: ah! the world of journalism
Summary: 4 Stars
This is the true story of Jeffrey Wigand (Russell Crowe), a man who signed a confidentiality agreement before getting fired from a big tobacco company. Hotshot *60 minutes* producer Bergman (Al Pacino) asks Wigand to decipher some technical documents, and soon realizes there's a bigger story hiding inside Wigand.
On top of that, Wigand is recruited to testity in Mississippi for a case that claims cigarettes *are* addictive.
The *60 minutes* piece will eventually be pulled because of corporate pressure. Wigand deals with his personal dilemma, and Bergman battles the corporation.
Both men will struggle against Big Tobacco's attempts to silence them and against the CBS television network's cowardly complict preference of putting money as a higher priority over the truth.
True colors of journalism are shown throughout the film. Director Michael Mann has done a great job portraying journalistic realism. The actors are marvelous, no exception.
An emotionally intense drama which reveals the consequences of standing up for the truth.