The Insider [DVD]

From the opening scene, “The Insider” is a gripping and exhilarating thriller that investigates the corruption of journalist ethics. Russell Crowe gives an effective performance playing against type as Jeffrey Wigand, a paunchy middle-aged business man working for the tobacco industry who decides to blow the whistle on his colleagues’ attempts to hide the health risks associated with smoking. Al Pacino is the television journalist who takes on Jeffrey’s case but who finds that his own media executives refuse to support him. Based on the true story of when a tobacco industry whistleblower approached the US “Sixty Minutes” program, “The Insider” presents a cynical and disturbing case for how the increasing corporatisation of mass media leads to a denigration of the fifth estate’s objectivity and ethics. Michael Mann’s direction in this film is a critical leap for his own artistic career and the purpose and power of his vision is reflected in the high calibre of the support he receives from his cast and crew. The original music score is by Lisa Gerrard and Peter Bourke who are part of the musical group, Dead Can Dance. Cast also includes Christopher Plummer, Gina Gershon, Debi Mazer, Lindsay Crouse, Rip Torn and Philip Baker Hall.