The Insider

A few nights ago my wife and I watched, "The Insider". I forgot what an amazing movie this was. At this point it has to be in my top five movies of all time. Directed by Michael Mann (Collateral, Miami Vice) and starring a much fatter Russell Crowe and Al Pacino, this movie will take your breath away if you love intense dialogue and perfect script writing. Usually in an intense movie, I find myself saying, "It's just a movie, don't get drawn into it", but with this one I found that I could not convice myself to stay that one step removed. The script is flawless, the cinematography is dark and meloncholoy (my style) and Al Pacino and Russell Crowe are at their absolute best as actors.

For those of you who don't know anything about the movie here is a synopsis from imdb.com:

Based on the article "The Man Who Knew Too Much," THE INSIDER depicts the true story of Jeffrey Wigand (Russell Crowe), a successful scientist who is fired from the Brown & Williamson tobacco company for objecting to certain lab tests. He signs a confidentiality agreement to ease the company's nervousness, but when hotshot 60 MINUTES producer Lowell Bergman (Al Pacino) recruits Wigand to help him decipher some technical documents, he realizes that there's a bigger story hiding inside Wigand. Eventually Bergman convinces him to break the agreement and sit for an interview with Mike Wallace (Christopher Plummer). The resulting media frenzy causes Wigand to lose the support of his family and forces Bergman to confront the harsh reality of his business. Additionally, Wigand is recruited by the state of Mississippi to testify on its behalf that cigarettes are, in fact, addictive. To pay the rent, he begins teaching high school chemistry, waiting for Bergman to convince the network to air the piece. Buckling under corporate pressure, CBS pulls the plug, which sparks Bergman to leak information to the press. As Wigand deals with his personal dilemma, Bergman battles the corporation that begins to show its true colors. Both men must decide for themselves if they've made the right choices.

As a Christian, I was challenged and reminded of the need to do the right thing no matter what the cost. Integrity is something worth fighting and this movie shows that in this world it may come with a price.

You can read some reviews here from Rotten Tomatoes.com.

To read the back story on Jeffery Wiggand click here.

Here is a trailer for the movie. (Quicktime)