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Laramie Movie Scope:
The Insider

Telling the truth can be harmful to your health

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by Robert Roten, Film Critic
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November 7, 1999 -- How often do you see a journalist portrayed as a good guy, a man of integrity in a movie? O.K. stop laughing, not often, and certainly not in "Natural Born Killers." How about in "All the President's Men." Now, there are at least two with "The Insider."

"The Insider" is about a heroic last stand by journalist Lowell Bergman (Al Pacino of "Heat") against those hideous forces that have consumed corporate news organizations: bean counters, lawyers and risk managers. The movie's other hero is Jeffrey Wigand (Russell Crowe of "L.A. Confidential"), a scientist who, at great cost to himself, speaks out against a conspiracy by tobacco companies to manipulate the content of tobacco products to enhance nicotine addiction and to cover up that fact.

The story is based on actual events, although certain details have been changed for dramatic effect (it is based in part on an article by Marie Brenner called "The Man Who Knew Too Much"). The movie, directed and co-written (with Eric Roth) by Michael Mann ("Heat" and "Last of the Mohicans"), is riveting, even though the story is well-known, in the same way "Apollo 13" was effective. Bergman, a producer for the popular and influential news magazine, "60 Minutes," meets Wigand, recently fired from a tobacco company, when he's looking for an expert to interpret some secret reports from another tobacco company.

Bergman hires Wigand to interpret the data for him, but soon Wigand is pressured to sign a new confidentiality agreement with the tobacco company he used to work for. He assumes Bergman sold him out and the two have a confrontation, the first of many in what turns out to be a very tempestuous working relationship.

Wigand is a man who gets angry when he is pushed and he gets pushed plenty by the tobacco company. Soon the battle escalates and Wigand receives death threats. Instead of backing off, he fights back, agreeing to tape an interview with Mike Wallace (convincingly played by Christopher Plummer of "Dolores Claiborne"). But when it comes time to air the tape, network executives get cold feet because of the threat of a huge tobacco company lawsuit.

The battle between big tobacco, CBS, Bergman and Wigand continues to escalate. Mann is able to bring the tension to such a point that some of the characters, such as Wigand, appear that they are going to explode. Mann is able to juggle the various story lines, including a key legal deposition in Mississippi with great dexterity. This high-pressure, high-stakes legal and news jockeying is heady stuff. We also get to see some of the newsman's craft. Bergman calls himself a newsman. It is not as fancy a term as a journalist, but it means the same thing. After watching Pacino in this film it makes me proud to say I'm a newsman too, and damn that feels good these days.

I think I did spot one continuity error in the film (if anybody sees I'm in error, please e-mail me, because I won't be able to see this film again for some time to confirm it). In one shot Pacino is at a public outdoor telephone and sets a cardboard tray with two cups of coffee and other stuff on top of the phone enclosure. Seconds later, all that's left is one cup. The tray is gone.

Pacino, Crowe (an actor who should get more notice that he does), Plummer and Philip Baker Hall of "The Truman Show," who plays 60 Minutes' Executive Director Don Hewitt, are all top notch, and the supporting cast is excellent as well. The original musical score by Pieter Bourke, Lisa Gerrard and Graeme Revell is the best I've heard in some time. This film rates an A.

Spoiler alert!

At one point in the film, Wigand is very depressed and under incredible pressure from the tobacco companies and is all alone. At that point I was very glad this was a true story. If it had been a work of fiction, particularly an art film, the character would have killed himself, as in "Dead Poet's Society" or he would have been killed by an assassin, as in "American Beauty" allowing the dark powers to triumph. Real life is more interesting than that. In real life, people have to live with their decisions, and it is how they deal with the resulting responsibility and pressure that defines us. In this case, instead of a lot of blood and an abbreviated end to the story, we see a kind of triumph of the human spirit over great obstacles. We see those in the heart of darkness haul themselves up into the light, and we see the mighty brought low. No tricks, no easy solutions, just tough decisions, hard work and perseverance by a lot of people. Now that's refreshing.

End of spoiler alert

Click here for links to places to buy this movie in video and/or DVD format, the soundtrack, books, even used videos, games and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

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Copyright © 1999 Robert Roten. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.
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Robert Roten can be reached via e-mail at my last name at lariat dot org. [Mailer button: image of letter and envelope]

(If you e-mail me with a question about this or any other movie or review, please mention the name of the movie you are asking the question about, otherwise I may have no way of knowing which film you are referring to)