The Insider is the sort of movie that rehabilitates the word Hollywood. Based on the true story of a tobacco scientist who broke ranks and testified against big tobacco. Michael Mann's previous movies include Heat and Last of the Mohicans, both stellar. Mann represents perhaps the anti-hack. In contrast to talents such as Paul Verhoeven and John McTiernan, Michael Mann's name on a movie represents more than simple exploitation of technical virtuosity. Despite the gloss and the extended running time (2 hr 40 min), the audience is closely connected to the characters from start to finish. Al Pacino plays an actual person (instead of a scenery-chewing caricature) with great results. As Jeffrey Wigand, a man forced to re-evaluate his life and choices under the harsh light of his new-found conscience, Russell Crowe steps up, with a certain still fury, to a whole new level of acting. Michael Mann is on a roll and I hope it lasts another ten or twenty years. 3.5 stars.
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