Lulu writes:

"I sat in a movie theater today and watched Russell Crowe in a two and a half hour movie. Perhaps the best compliment I can pay Mr. Crowe is that I, a most besotted fan, was only dimly aware -maybe for five percent of the time- that it was he and not Dr. Jeffrey Wigand who filled the screen. Not because wig and added weight made him unrecognizable -in spite of the camouflage he was, physically, very much the Russell Crowe we would readily detect from a mile away-, but because he eerily became this colorless hero with dented armor and not an iota of dash.

"The Insider has been described as a film about Big Tobacco (in capital letters), about the news media or both, all of which it is. But what struck me was the realization that it is going to touch many a raw nerve. Dr. Wigand's story, in a most extreme fashion, is the story of today's corporate world, of so many (too many) downsized, discarded and humiliated men and women in America. Few among us would risk what Wigand did in order walk the right path —and we would like to believe few have suffered as he. But -to different degrees- many will viscerally identify with the fear, loss and despair that Russell Crowe portrays with unbearable realism.

"Will Oscar be calling on Russell's door? Mixed feelings on that one. In a perfect world, Pacino's role, with no complexity and a few too many touches of grandstanding, should not be competition for Crowe's Wigand. But Al Pacino is an Academy favorite and his character has the član and the identifiable trademark of the cinematic hero. Even his raincoat, in dramatic slow motion, seems to swirl like Batman's cape. And (let's not forget him) there is that "new" American icon looming large: Kevin Spacey. Not to mention Jim Carey as "The Man In The Moon", coming our way soon. However, whether he wins an Oscar or not, Russell Crowe has, more than ever, left his brilliant mark in film history. Last, but not least, a mention must be made about Christopher Plummer's extraordinary portrayal of Mike Wallace.

"What a grand Hollywood ending for a millennium. Once again, Mr. Crowe, thanks indeed."
~Lulu

Read more about this film at salon.com:

Not just blowing smoke
By David Weir
Nov.  5, 1999
"After years of working behind the scenes on "60 Minutes," producer Lowell Bergman now gets his close-up -- by way of Al Pacino -- as the subject of "The Insider." Here he explains what really happened with "60 Minutes," what Michael Mann left out of the movie and why Mike Wallace is hopping mad..."

Read more about the story in the COLUMBIA JOURNALISM REVIEW

January/February 1996 | Contents
Lessons of the Sixty Minutes Cave-In
by Lawrence Grossman

And at the Canadian site CANOE.COM
The Insider Scoop:   Former corporate jet-setter became poster boy for
anit-smoking forces
Insider sets the screen on fire: Thriller blows lid off tobacco industry
and takes swing at 60 Minutes.

Imagery composed of scanned pictures and screen captures from Al Pacino's Loft and Maximum Crowe.  Click here to see more Insider art.

Reviews:

I rented this movie because I wanted to see Russell Crowe. I found it very compelling and shocking. Al Pacino was excellent but Russell was unbelieveable great. He is a multi talented man.
Rated: Four Crowes
~PJG035