An insider story depicts the struggle of a protagonist within a world or culture that they already know and belong to, and often involves their subverting the structures that define those environments. Insider protagonists can face internal conflicts that challenge their understanding of the Evil Foundation upon which their world exists, as well as struggles to use skills and talents acquired from their old world to confront the new one.
Michael Mann’s 1999 film The Insider stars Al Pacino and Russell Crowe as 60 Minutes reporter Jeffrey Wigand and CBS producer Lowell Bergman, whose battle to get Wigand’s tobacco industry whistleblowing testimony to air exposes the lethal duplicity of major corporations battling to preserve their public image. Based on Marie Brenner’s 1996 Vanity Fair article “The Man Who Knew Too Much,” the film shows how the quest for truth can trump corporate cynicism and greed.
The movie is a political thriller with the depth of a drama and a slow-burn intensity that builds throughout its running time. The film is set in locations like Washington, DC (representing the political and legal institutions involved), Jackson, Mississippi (where Wigand’s deposition took place) and other real-life venues that lend a sense of authenticity to the narrative. The score by composer Lisa Gerrard, best known for her work in Gladiator, adds to the tense atmosphere of the movie.
The movie’s success is largely due to the enduring strength of its lead characters, as well as the fact that the events depicted in it actually happened. However, it suffers from some issues related to its length and the tendency for Mann and his screenwriter Eric Roth to overstate their case.