The Insider

Starring: Al Pacino, Russell Crowe, Christopher Plummer, Gina Gershon

I have to say that, much as I like Mann's work, I was distinctly unenthused about this picture's prospects when I first heard about it. The story (based on actual events--though there are disputes about the details, as you might guess), is about the TV newsmagazine “60 Minutes” squelching a tobacco company exposé because of the negative effect the management thought it would have on a proposed merger. Gee, tobacco companies? Cover-ups? Scandal? Haven't we been bored to death by this in the press? But Mann is a magician; he takes this unpromising material and makes a truly gripping thriller out of it. The bravura opening sequence depicts Pacino's “60 Minutes” producer setting up an interview with a mideast terrorist; it actually has nothing to do with the rest of the story, but it sets the tone for the entire picture. Pacino is fantastic, his best work in years. He nails the character; it's as if he is thrilled to be playing someone who is a recognizable human, and not a caricature. Crowe (who was so striking in "LA Confidential") is mesmerizing here in a completely different kind of role. The tension between the two leads is what drives the story, and Mann sustains it beautifully. Crowe's character wants to do the right thing, and suffers for it; Pacino's character wants to help him, but also to get the story, and he suffers for that. Mann uses the conventions of the thriller to create a study of corporate malfeasance, the power of the media, and the price of integrity, three subjects which should be near and dear to all of us in 21st century America. (2/5/00)