(Review originally written at 17 October 2005)
This movie tells the intriguing story of mainly two normal individuals and their struggle to unveil the truth behind the lies of the tobacco industry, to the world.
Michael Mann movies are often told slowly but they are never boring. This is due to the intensity it is told with, the realistic cinematography by Dante Spinotti and the editing by three different editors. On top of that the two main actors constantly keep the movie in motion. Russell Crowe and Al Pacino are both outstanding actors and are truly dynamite in this movie. Both are acting so powerful that they take the movie to an even higher level. Another fine 'villainish' role is played by Michael Gambon and lets please also not forget the wonderful Christopher Plummer as Mike Wallace.
The way of story telling makes the movie intense and tense at the same time. Only a director like Michael Mann could pull this of. It makes "The Insider" truly one of the greatest and most powerful movie of the last couple of years.
In my view the movie can be split in two different parts. The first part is about Jeffrey Wigand, his family and the pressure he is put under while the second halve of the picture mainly focuses on Lowell Bergman and his struggle to get the taped interview with Wigand aired on television. The balance between these two parts is perhaps not always perfect and the movie at times focuses a bit too much on Wigand and his family. I know that it is important for the story and the character of Wigand to also tell the story of his family but I felt that at times it took away some of the continuity and pace.
The movie works well and shows what the price of just wanting to be honest in a corrupt world can be. A both important and powerful movie.
9/10
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