And behind door number 22... a guide to some music of the more traditional kind
Catherine Munn and Jacob Martin list their Top 5 programmes to watch over the festive period.
And behind door number nine... some dazzling musical delights
The complete arts guide, for week 9
Hollywood hasn't got a good track record when it comes to films about "Big Issues," so a two-and-a-half hour movie about the evils of the tobacco industry doesn't exactly sound compelling. Fear not: there's no self-satisfied preaching in Michael Mann's The Insider. Instead, it's a tight, riveting thriller.
Released in 1999, The Insider is based on the real life story of whistleblower Jeffrey Wigand (Russell Crowe), an executive for a tobacco company who has become disillusioned with the immoral practices of the industry. When he voices his concerns to his superiors, he's sacked and forced to sign a confidentiality agreement. Undeterred, Wigand comes into contact with Lowell Bergman (Al Pacino), a TV producer for news show 60 Minutes, who is determined to get Wigand on the air and spill the beans on the shady practices of Big Tobacco.
At its heart, The Insider is a Good vs Evil flick. It pits Wigand against a faceless, evil corporation armed to the teeth with lawyers, private investigators and bent cops. They tear Wigand and his family apart, using death threats and smear campaigns to stop him revealing a truth that could create one of the biggest public health scandals of recent history. But Wigand isn't simply a heroic crusader for the truth. He's a flawed, socially awkward individual who, despite his best efforts, neglects his wife and alienates his children. It's the shades of grey that elevate The Insider above your usual black-and-white political drama.
But that's what Michael Mann has always done – he takes an established genre and stamps it with his own distinctive style. And whilst there's nary a gun fight or car chase to be found, Mann still infuses the film with his gift of ramping up the action to unbridled levels of tension. Lawyers roar at each other across courtrooms. Men in expensive suits survey vast city landscapes from their skyscraper windows. Business executives smile to one another across the boardroom, only for them to backstab each other ten minutes later. It's thrilling stuff.
Every actor is at the top of their game. Al Pacino does what Al Pacino does best - shout, growl, and make the mundane details of a business deal sound as exciting as a high stakes poker game. We even get the obligatory Pacino Monologue™ near the end. The antidote to Pacino's flash is Russell Crowe as Wigand – he sweats, mumbles, fidgets with his hand, and manages to elicit both respect and pity at the same time. It's a brilliantly understated performance. Who would've guessed that just a year later he'd be chewing up the scenery in Roman coliseums in Gladiator?
Yet for all its star power, The Insider is a remarkably underrated film. There are a few reasons for this. It's sandwiched between two of Mann's most famous and mainstream films – Heat and Ali. It was nominated for a heap of Oscars but was overshadowed by the big winner of the night, American Beauty. Plus, its subject matter isn't exactly box office friendly.
Which is a shame, because The Insider deserves a wider audience. At the very least, it's an exciting film that carries on the legacy of those great paranoid thrillers from the '70s. But more importantly, it's still relevant today. With Wikileaks and super-injunctions fuelling debates on information and who should possess it, now is the perfect time to acquaint yourself with The Insider.
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