The Insider (8/10)
Based on events on the early 1990s, The Insider tells how CBS television producer Lowell Bergman (Al Pacino) persuaded tobacco industry whistle- blower Jeffrey Wigand (Russell Crowe) to break the confidentiality agreement he had with his ex-employer and spill the beans on the management's knowledge that their product was indeed addictive, despite their sworn public declarations to the contrary. Getting the interview with Wigand taped was only half the battle, and the film shows the further struggles Bergman had persuading CBS to air it.
Michael Mann's film finds high drama in telephone calls and faxes, and his distinctive slick visual style, which was a large part of the appeal of his TV series Miami Vice, is evident here, although the flashiness has evolved to take into account the (literally) broader canvas and more leisurely pace of film. For example, as in his films Manhunter and Heat, characters are shown in long contemplative silence, framed off-centre in widescreen fields of garish colour. At times the style threatens to get in the way of the content, but Mann mostly manages to keep himself in check.
Al Pacino has in recent years tended to chew the scenery in histrionic fits, but here he turns in a more carefully controlled performance, perhaps his best since The Scent of a Woman. But it can't beat Russell Crowe's terrific performance as the tormented executive. A complex character, Wigand comes across as a decent principled man without being particularly likeable. Crowe put on weight for the part, and it is astonishing that this is the same actor I'd seen in a trailer for Gladiator a few days earlier.
The Insider has proved controversial largely because the names of the individuals and corporations have not been changed in this dramatisation, and a few feathers were understandably ruffled. In particular, Mike Wallace, the 60 Minutes front-man played by Christopher Plummer, objected to the way he is portrayed failing to back up Bergman's attempts to convince the CBS suits to broadcast Wigand's interview. The tobacco company involved was also miffed, and insisted that the film include a disclaimer pointing out that the source of the death threats against the Wigands was never established.
How accurate the film is in its details is open to question, but it seems that the film successfully communicates the broad truth of the case. Does it really matter? I think it does. All The President's Men, with which The Insider is bound to be compared, was a similarly talky but compelling tale of investigative journalists persuading reluctant witnesses to reveal their inside knowledge of the dirty dealings of powerful interests, in this case political rather than corporate. Such films can have a dramatic influence on public perceptions of such events. Although I've read Woodstein's book, my memories of what Watergate was all about come mainly from watching Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman. Probably the same is true for many US citizens, for whom these events are not just the stuff of casual interest but form an important part of recent history. I think filmmakers have a responsibility with material of this sort, and The Insider and All The President's Men are both honourable films which discharge this responsibility. At the other extreme, Oliver Stone's JFK is an example of the damage that can be done by a talented but misguided filmmaker meddling with sensitive historical material.
Tackling a tricky subject head-on, The Insider is a stylish and compelling drama with two excellent lead performances, confirming Michael Mann as one of mainstream Hollywood's most interesting filmmakers.
--
Gary Jones
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