Insider (1999)

Meanwhile Lowell Bergman (Al Pacino), investigative reporter and “60 Minutes” producer, taped the infamous Wallace interview with its devastating testimony, and arranged a legal defense team for Wigand. However before the most newsworthy “60 Minutes” segment could air, Bergman would lose to a corporate CBS decision to kill it and experience the fracturing loyalties and bitter divisions within “60 Minutes.”

Wigand would find himself sued, targeted in a national smear campaign, divorced and facing possible incarceration. Bergman was trying to defeat the smear campaign and fighting to force CBS to air the interview. These two find themselves in a fight from which no one will emerge unscathed.
 
"Pacino is at his intense best."  James Berardinelli's ReelViews
"...Crowe is fantastic to watch."  Desson Howe, Washington Post
 


Editor's Note

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.| |Like his other films THIEF, MANHUNTER, and HEAT, director Michael Mann takes on the theme of a man trying to do the right thing while trapped by circumstances that could destroy him. Once again Mann pulls terrific performances from his entire cast. Crowe is outstanding as Jeff Wigand, the beleaguered insider who risks everything for the truth. Pacino is suitably tenacious as the once-radical producer Bergman, and Christopher Plummer is excellent as news anchor Mike Wallace. With its brilliant performances and stunning cinematography, THE INSIDER is an emotionally intense film that reveals the consequences of standing up for the truth.


Plot Summary

THE INSIDER is a gripping motion picture about big-business corruption, featuring a stunning lead performance by Russell Crowe. Scientist Jeffrey Wigand takes on the tobacco industry by breaking his confidentiality agreement with his employer, Brown & Williamson. By granting 60 MINUTES a revealing interview, Wigand's life spirals out of control. He seeks help in Lowell Bergman, the producer who has given his word that he will air the interview in its entirety. Big Tobacco, however, does everything in its power to shut Wigand up, including persuading CBS to shelve the interview he has sacrificed everything to give. As per director Michael Mann's request, this movie is available only in letterboxed format in both VHS and DVD.