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Review

A powerfully made and riveting drama of heroism, corruption and corporate manipulation, The Insider is the true story of what led to the airing of the groundbreaking "60 Minutes" story of fraud by the tobacco companies. Reminiscent in both content and execution of All the President's Men, the film grabs you by the throat in the very beginning and never lets go.

In a stand-out performance, Crowe is Jeffrey Wigand, a former top-level scientist for Brown & Williamson tobacco company who blows the whistle on a conspiracy by Big Tobacco to make cigarettes more addictive. Pacino is dynamic as Lowell Bergman, a "60 Minutes" producer who convinces Wigand to put himself on the line for the story of the decade. That CBS isn't there to protect him makes for outstanding drama. Director Mann approaches this more as a detective story to an American tragedy rather than a full-scale attack on tobacco, which would have been too easy a target. What happens to Wigand and how he is nearly abandoned is shameful; what lengths Bergman goes to is applaudable.

The acting is uniformly excellent, with Plummer giving an extraordinary portrayal of newsman Mike Wallace. The Insider is gutsy, stylish, compelling story telling which may make us slightly more cynical the next time we sit down to watch the evening news.