Al Pacino in "The Insider."

MOVIE INFORMATION

With 10 as a must-see, Jack gives this film a: Stars: Al Pacino and Russell Crowe Director: Michael Mann Rated: R, for profanity Length: 158 minutes

ROCHESTERCRITIQUE

Having seen this film, how would you rate it? 10 5 9 4 8 3 7 2 6 1

By Jack Garner
Democrat and Chronicle

(Nov. 5, 1999) -- Lowell Bergman (Al Pacino) is a 60 Minutes producer who specializes in finding ways to get sources to talk, whether it's about Middle East terrorism or the efforts of the tobacco industry to cover up the addictive nature of nicotine.

Jeffrey Wigand (Russell Crowe) is a former tobacco industry executive who is grudgingly willing to talk, but must bear up under an intense smear campaign engineered by his former employer.

He's also pressured by death threats, the collapse of his marriage and the all-encompassing restrictions of the confidentiality agreement he previously signed for the cigarette manufacturer.

The relationship between these men -- and with the most famous network news magazine -- is the subject of The Insider, an engrossing portrait of people caught up in dangerous, high-powered events that involve billions of dollars, a network's integrity and the nation's health.

Superbly directed by Michael Mann, the film also draws viewers into the lives of multidimensional characters, putting the spotlight on flawed and reluctant heroes and callous, often unseen villains.

The Insider has been adapted by Mann and co-writer Eric Roth from a 1996 Vanity Fair article detailing the efforts of the CBS news magazine to expose what the tobacco industry knew about the dangers nicotine posed to health.

It's the best movie about the complexities, challenges and moral conflicts of news reporting since All the President's Men, 23 years ago. This is a taut and intelligent portrait of normally low-profile people caught in the glare of media scrutiny. Equally fascinating are the conflicts among the folks doing the scrutinizing.

CBS' 60 Minutes is the stage for this intense drama, with veteran reporter Mike Wallace (played by Christopher Plummer) asking the questions once his producer sets the stage.

But 60 Minutes is feeling pressures of its own, from its own nervous legal team and from front-office executives worried about a pending sale of the network to Westinghouse.

In Wigand, producer Bergman had found a high-placed former executive willing to say that despite its addictive qualities and health hazards, "we're in the nicotine-delivery business." The film then intricately details the considerable legal maneuvering necessary for Wigand to sidestep his confidentiality agreement.

But astonishingly, 60 Minutes threatens to pull back on the interview at the last minute, despite the great personal sacrifice Wigand made to grant it.

It's the stuff of riveting drama, which Mann presents with artful detail, clarity and tension.

Mann built his reputation with the polished, highly volatile and physical drama of TV's Miami Vice, and on the big screen with The Last of the Mohicans and Heat. He flexes different muscles here, employing a gritty, semi-documentary film style, generating excitement and fascination for a movie of ideas, courage, intrigue and integrity.

From top to bottom, his actors deliver top-flight performances. As Bergman, Pacino is smart and determined -- and appropriately incensed when his story is threatened. Plummer's Wallace is confident, experienced and larger than life.

In smaller but pivotal roles, Gina Gershon oozes confidence and a killer instinct as a corporate lawyer; Michael Gambon shows us both the gentlemanly surface and the slimy interior of a tobacco executive; and Bruce McGill has a brief but memorable courtroom explosion as an attorney.

But at the heart of The Insider is Russell Crowe's amazing transformation into Jeffrey Wigand, a performance that'll surely earn an Oscar nomination.

With gray hair, a few extra pounds, a slight waddle to his walk and an on-the-money soft American accent, this New Zealand-born actor totally escapes his Down Under roots, as well as earlier roles such as the tough cop he played in L.A. Confidential.

More to the point, Crowe brings the conflicted Wigand to life, presenting the pain and insecurity of a man reluctantly drawn into the spotlight. He is a flawed Everyman, forced by circumstances -- and the persistent Bergman -- into a role that leaves his life a shambles.

The Insider becomes the ultimate outsider.