Movie Review: The Insider

I watched The Insider last night. It was one of those movies that’s been traveling up my Netflix queue for awhile. O.K. It’d been on there so long that I’d actually forgotten pretty much what it was about. My vague recollection was that it was about a whistleblower who went to 60 Minutes. That’s a really boiled down summary of what it is.

One man told the truth. Another reported the story. Both paid the price. The Insider — a true tale about a Big Tobacco scientist (Russell Crowe) who exposed industry secrets, and the newsman (Al Pacino) who fought corporate forces that would have squelched the story — offers a glimpse into power, media and money in America. A thought-provoking and thrilling film. [Netflix]

The movie didn’t make a splash in the movie theaters though it was nominated for 7 Academy Awards, but I remember that I had wanted to see it. The plot is exactly the type of thing I like to watch even though I don’t care for Russell Crowe or Al Pacino, both of which were subperb in their roles in this movie. If you thought Crowe was good in A Beautiful Mind, you’ll also be impressed with him in this role.

As a side note, I also thought that Christopher Plumber was excellent as Mike Wallace. Certainly, he slid into the role and make you see Wallace and not Plumber. I think it’s hard to play other recognizable celebrity personalities. So kudos to him.

As for the story…well, it’s a true story. All you can do is tell it like it was. It’s frightening how far reaching the Tobacco Industry’s influence appeared to be, that “the Big Seven” could not only fuck with this man’s life and threaten his family and their future but even have some sort of control over what news is shown on national television even back when supposedly the news couldn’t be bought.

In the end, I had the feeling that Berman, Pacino’s character, and Wigand, Crowe’s character, were both insiders and that “The Insider” title fit them both in their own way. The story wasn’t just about Wigand’s outing of the Tobacco industry but the end of an era for a certain reliability in news reporting and supporting their sources — at least on 60 Minutes.

The movie is well worth the 2 1/2 hours viewing time. As picky as I am, I gave it 5 stars on Netflix.

tags: The Insider, Netflix, Russell Crowe, Al Pacino, Christopher Plumber, movie, 60 Minutes, Mike Wallace, Jeffery Wigand, Lowell Bergman, tobacco industry

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