Director: Michael Mann Producers: Michael Mann, Pieter Jan Brugge Writers: Eric Roth & Michael Mann; based on the "Vanity Fair" article "The Man Who Knew Too Much" by Marie Brenner Director of Photography: Dante Spinotti Al Pacino: Lowell Bergman Russell Crowe: Jeffrey Wigand Christopher Plummer: Mike Wallace Diane Venora: Liane Wigand Philip Baker Hall: Don Hewitt Lindsay Crouse: Sharon Tiller Debi Mazar: Debbie De Luca Gina Gershon: Helen Caperelli

The film dramatises a real-life story of a scientist in the United States who blew the whistle on a giant tobacco company for deliberately misleading Congress and the public on the health hazards of cigarette smoking.

The film brings to light the power of giant corporations and contrasts this with the power of the media and, somewhere in the middle, the vulnerability of the individual.

Russell Crowe, with the help of a great makeup job, gives a fine performance as Jeffery Wigand, whistle-blowing scientist.

Wigand is fired by tobacco giant Brown and Williamson for his obvious lack of support for the company's efforts to continue to kill people with impunity.

Al Pacino plays the "60 Minutes" journalist, Lowell Bergman, who encourages Wigand to come clean and expose Brown and Williamson. Pacino is convincing in the role, but a little hard to stomach sometimes in his defence of the righteousness of the media and the ideals of the free press in America - just a little difficult to believe a seasoned reporter like Bergman could be such a naive idealist.

Christopher Plummer was outstanding as the "60 Minutes" presenter Mike Wallace, a smooth and polished veteran of the commercial current affairs genre.

Bergman seems unusually shocked by 60 Minutes' decision to suppress the interview with Wigand due to legal threats by the tobacco company.

I enjoyed the film, but it seemed a little uncertain about the central theme of the story. Is it about how a man's life is ruined by an American corporate giant or how the American media are influenced/controlled by corporate America.

The film managed to juggle both elements well until the end, when it decided to focus on Bergman's character and his moral dilemma about being a journalist.

"The Insider" tells an important story and is gripping viewing despite some over-the-top American idealist hype.

The film was directed by Michael Mann. It has a great soundtrack with music from Massive Attack and various other groups.

back to content page