Crowe gets Inside the tobacco industry

"The Insider" is not only a brilliant bout of filmmaking by the supremely talented Michael Mann (Heat, Last of the Mohicans), but more importantly, it’s a tour-de-force for one of the finest actors working today, Russel Crowe.

The story, virtually all of it true, goes like this: Lowell Bergman (Al Pacino) is a producer for the number one news magazine show in the world, 60 Minutes. One morning, he mysteriously receives a box full of official documents that he can’t decipher. Through a contact, he’s put in touch with recently fired tobacco executive Jeffrey Wigand (Russel Crowe), who might be willing to decipher them for him. This starts the relationship between the two men, which rides a fine line between professional and personal.

Once Bergman and Wigand meet, Bergman gets a flavor for what kind of guy Wigand is: obviously incredibly smart, caring, and a bit angry. Angry because he was fired for no reason except for his protests about the hazardous direction of research that his firm was taking. However, Bergman also realizes that Wigand is a man of his word, and that he’s not going to violate the non-disclosure form his company had him sign before he left. Bergaman’s hopes of getting Wigand to do an expose are low.

In the next, unforgettable scene, Wigand is summoned to the CEO’s office of the company he was just fired from. Getting a sense that some sort of trouble might brew, the CEO asks—or rather, attempts to bully—Wigand into signing another, much broader confidentiality agreement. Crowe’s performance in this scene is astounding, as he realizes that his word means nothing to these people-they don’t trust him at all. Wigand also realizes much more than that in this scene—perhaps exactly what the tobacco company really cares about. Overcome by rage, he tells off the CEO, making it clear that he was going to honor his agreement,….but now….who knows.

This begins the unraveling of Wigand’s personal life. His expensive home on a golf course with his two daughters and wife Liane (Diane Venora) has to be sold—no more executive income. His relationship with Liane crumbles, as she clearly can’t handle the stress and unpleasantness of the battle with Big Tobacco. Wigand decides that he is going to do a full interview for 60 Minutes, and flies out to New York to tape it with Bergman, and of course, Mike Wallace (Christopher Plummer).

The second dynamic in "The Insider" starts to unfold as soon as the segment is taped. For the first time in history, the management of CBS tells the producers of their show 60 Minutes that they can’t run the story. Fearing a potential lawsuit against them by the tobacco company, they first ask, then tell Bergman & company that the segment with Wigand cannot air.

The film culminates with both stories, and the heroes of both stories, Wigand and Bergman, winning and losing at the same time. When the segment finally does air, Bergman is told "You won". He sits for a moment, and asks "What? What did I win?". Realizing that his own career and integrity has taken a new turn—and not a good turn—he has to decide what his future will hold.

As for Wigand, we see him finally get a chance to feel good about the chemical knowledge and research he’s done for his whole life. He becomes a high school teacher with a broken family. But he’s happy, or perhaps more accurately, guilt-free, and for the first time in the film, we can see that. Director Mann does a fantastic job of showing us Wigand & Bergman’s journeys, and doesn’t candy coat them with a happy ending that simply couldn’t have happened. Instead, we see what really happened, and what really happens every day with the tobacco industry—they spend money to make lawsuits go away, and the people let it happen.

Crowe’s performance as everyman Jeffrey Wigand is fascinating. He emotes an incredible amount of love for his daughters—so much so that it truly is heartbreaking at times. At the same time, his rage at the injustice he’s engulfed in is awe inspiring. Crowe also does a lot without saying a lot in some scenes. He truly is at the top of his game here, and shows that he’s capable of becoming people. Gaining weight for the role is simply a physical change, which he did do, but he also clearly worked very hard to become Jeffrey Wigand.

Finally, on a technical note, the direction by Mann is outstanding. He uses handheld techniques quite often, immersing you in the characters’ environments. Mann also doesn’t try to force feed information to the viewer, often extending scenes beyond conventional length. It’s exactly this that makes the film feel so real. On a side note, the music by Lisa Gerrard & Peter Bourke is also excellent, making the soundtrack great all on its own. In a nutshell, "The Insider" is one of the best films of 1999, if not the 90’s. See it again.


On the Splitscale: 9/10