Mountain FogRETROSPECT: THE INSIDER (1999)
August 21st 2009 10:33
Al Pacino as Lowell Bergman in The Insider.
What do you think about when I mention the name Michael Mann? Probably cops, robbers and a lot of brilliantly choreographed shoot-outs.
Mann has made a name for himself through his obsession with both sides of the law in the United States. He’s a student of Chicago gangsters, both past and contemporary, and the cultures of lock-ups such as San Quentin and Alcatraz.
It’s interesting then that arguably one of Mann’s greatest films doesn’t feature any of his pet subjects. The Insider instead illustrates the writer/director’s true gift: his comprehension of character.
There are few filmmakers who understand as well as Mann the idea that the plot is simply what happens to the character. He knows that each character is a stakeholder in the story. The Insider doesn’t feature any shoot-outs, but it does feature a boatload of tension and paranoia made all the more compelling by the fact you care about the person at the centre of the frame.
The Insider tells the true story of 60 Minutes producer, Lowell Bergman (Al Pacino), and his attempt to televise the tale of tobacco industry whistle blower, Dr Jeffrey Wigand (Russell Crowe). Wigand had recently been released from a high-powered job with cigarette manufacturer, Brown & Williamson, when Bergman approached him.
Wigand’s early desire to tell the truth was constricted by a confidentiality agreement he’d signed with Brown & Williamson. But as the cigarette company applied further pressure on the scientist they only managed to drive him further towards Bergman and the 60 Minutes team. An extended legal and media battle ensued, and the consequences for Wigand were grave as the lives of both he and his family came under threat from clandestine sources.
Michael Mann was a professional acquaintance of Lowell Bergman’s in the mid-90s, when the true events were slowly unfolding, and by late 1995 had approached the producer about turning the story into a film. You can almost imagine the cogs ticking in Mann’s brain as he sniffed the makings of a screenplay, even if it was far away from his first love of sociopathic bank robbers and relentless cops. It would end up taking another four years for the final result to hit theatres, but it was time very well spent indeed.
The Insider is sublime filmmaking. There’s a startling precision to the whole production, from the spot-on casting and performances to the beautifully crisp technical aspects. It’s the work of a set of filmmakers comfortable with each other as a team and at the top of their collective game.
Dante Spinotti’s photography is perhaps the most immediately striking element of the film. His compositions are carefully organised, but often shot in an engaging documentary style, giving everything a startling naturalism despite the pristine blue sheen of his film stock. And with his gentle pans and slippery changes of focal depth Spinotti has a marvellous talent for being able to make absolutely apparent what the viewer should be focussing on.
Spinotti’s work is swaddled in some chilly sound design, courtesy of Doug Hempill, Andy Nelson, and Lee Orloff, and every beat of Mann and co-writer Eric Roth’s screenplay, whether it be big or small, is given its proper significance and momentum by the minimalist aural compositions. Their work is also linked tightly with an elegiac electronic score that adds an irresistible propulsion to the onscreen goings-on.
And Mann as director adds so much to the film through his shear economy. Nothing’s ever cluttered in a Michael Mann film, but particularly so here, where every scene is given its space to breathe and resonate, linking seamlessly with what came before and what will come after. Everything is tenderly planned and briskly executed, creating a film that’s lean and athletic.
Bergman and Wigand (Russell Crowe) talk tactics.
Mann’s expertise extends to his work with the actors, all of whom are excellent in The Insider. Pacino dials back his harrumph for the role of Bergman and Crowe secured his reputation as the nervy Wigand, a man whose conscience is willing to risk everything for the sake of the truth. Often in danger of stealing the show, however, is Christopher Plummer as veteran 60 Minutes reporter, Mike Wallace. The Insider was the start of a late career renaissance for Plummer, and he delivers Wallace to the audience in all the TV man’s calculated bluster.
But landing a supporting role in a Michael Mann gig is perhaps one of the sweetest jobs for an unsung actor, simply because the writer/director cares so much about his characters. It’s the same here, and Mann and Roth’s attention to detail with the people in their story simply highlights how fantastic The Insider’s script really is. Indeed, above all of its spectacular traits, the film’s success really began when Mann and Roth nailed their screenplay, working the wealth of information available into a succulent story imbued with a striking paranoia. The Insider remains one of Mann’s best films, and stands head and shoulders above anything he’s made since.
Check out the trailer for The Insider below:
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Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
Totally agree this is way up there in the Mann cannon, though Heat, Thief and Manhunter are still the top 3.
This is also the only Russel Crowe film i consider great, in fact the only film that seems to in any way match his thespian reputation.
Comment by Matt Shea
20/20 Filmsight
Seriously though, The Insider is a fantastic and slightly underrated modern film, and it's tempting to feel that Mann has lost some of his confidence since making this.