"The Scoop on 'Insider' Trading"
by Scott Mantz

"The Insider"
Al Pacino, Russell Crowe
Directed by Michael Mann

"Al Pacino gets the scoop on the tobacco industry from "The Insider'"

Money talks. Yes, I know you've heard it before, but if you really think about it, you see how it affects all facets of life. In Hollywood, it can make actors do films that they wouldn't (or shouldn't) normally do. On the streets, people sell drugs knowing full well what dangers are involved. In the case of the latest film from director Michael Mann, it can influence corporate greed to the point where the reputation of a respected news program is put on the line over the airing of a tell-all tobacco story. If you think that sounds pretty boring to sit through as a film, think again. "The Insider" is a compelling, fascinating, and spectacular movie that tells how a few good men took on the system--and lost.

Based on a true story, Jeffrey Wigand (Russell Crowe) is fired from his job as a chemist from tobacco giant Brown and Williamson. He signs a confidentiality agreement not to disclose any information about his former employers. When they tighten their hold on him and threaten his family, he loses what shred of loyalty he has and spills the beans to radical "60 Minutes" producer Lowell Bergman (Al Pacino). He coaxes Wigand until he finally agrees to reveal on tape what we've already suspected for years--that nicotine is addictive. He counters the sworn testimony of several top B&W executives and admits that they knew full well about the addictive elements of tobacco. There's no doubt that the airing of this report will have enormous repercussions. Bergman has a hold of one of the most important news pieces on modern health care, and Wigand's personal life is falling apart at the seams.

Just when "60 Minutes" gets ready to air the segment, parent company CBS pulls the plug, citing conflict with the agreement Wigand signed. Fearing numerous lawsuits, bad publicity, and a botched multi-million dollar sale to Westinghouse, CBS back-peddles and airs an abridged version of the story. Wigand is cheated after sacrificing everything, and Bergman is left standing alone to fight for his story. They are both thrown to the wolves while "60 Minutes" and CBS cower in fear to the almighty dollar.

The performances across the board are nothing less than stellar. Under immense pressure, Pacino never loses his cool. He's trying to hold it all together by protecting his subject and maintaining his dignity as a reporter. He has the same commanding presence you'd expect from him, but he knows not to overshadow the real focus of the film. After making his breakthrough in "LA Confidential", Russell Crowe gives one of the year's best performances in "The Insider". He loses everything, but plays the role with all the realism of a bruised and battered man torn between the welfare of his family and the conscience he never knew he had. By taking a teaching job (at a tenth of the pay of his former profession), he finally takes the path towards redemption. Kudos to Christopher Plummer, who plays raving egotist newsman Mike Wallace to a tee. By relying less on imitation and more on inspiration, he makes the role his own. After 50 years in the news business, he'll be damned if he's going to finish out his final years "wandering through the wilderness of National Pubic Radio". Well, excuse me!

While "The Insider" successfully conveys the importance of the issues at stake, it doesn't compromise the integrity and conflict of the key players to get its point across. Mann humanizes the story and keeps the film from getting wrapped up in its own self-importance. With its even pace and steady buildup, you'd never know the film was 2 hours and 40 minutes long. Instead of jumping right into the thick of it, Mann establishes who these people are and who they are to each other. By the time the story really begins, their interactions and relationships are believable and ring true. Just when you get a feel for what's at stake, the bar is raised to the next level, accentuating the suspense and bringing you in even further.

CBS eventually aired the full story, but by then it was too late. Their effort to do some major damage control was futile, and the reputation of a once distinctive news program was tarnished. One of the darkest periods in American journalism drove home a frightening lesson. Sometimes, bad things happen to good people. Oh, and one more thing--money talks.

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