The Insider review: the 1999 Michael Mann drama starring Al Pacino, Russell Crowe, and Christopher Plummer, based on the true story of tobacco whistleblower Jeffrey Wigand and the 60 Minutes story CBS almost didn't air. If you love Heat and never got around to The Insider, this is the case for watching it tonight.
Ask people to name Michael Mann's best film and you'll hear Heat, Collateral, or The Last of the Mohicans. For me it has always been The Insider. It has been my favorite film since the first time I saw it in 1999, and for twenty seven years I couldn't explain why.
This is a special episode. It's an origin story. The Insider didn't just become my favorite movie, it built the lens I watch every other movie through, and it took me years to find the words for it. Here's the short version: the stories I love most are about two people and a relationship at the center of the film, and by the time the credits roll that relationship has either been forged into something unbreakable or completely decimated. The Social Network, Amadeus, Whiplash, The King's Speech, and it started here, with Al Pacino on a hotel phone in Louisville, Kentucky, telling a broken man to trust him.
There is also something most people get wrong about The Insider. I got it wrong for years. It's about which relationship the movie is actually built on, and I'll make the case in the middle of the episode.
This week on Sound Speed Action: why The Insider is Michael Mann's best film, how one movie can teach you what kind of stories you're drawn to, the Aaron Sorkin style engine of intention and obstacle running underneath it, how Mann and cinematographer Dante Spinotti shot a movie about phone calls and depositions like a thriller, the Lisa Gerrard and Pieter Bourke score that other movies keep borrowing, Russell Crowe in his mid thirties playing a man in his fifties right before Gladiator, a hotel phone call, a deposition room, and a golf course driving range that still makes me look over my shoulder, and one honest gripe about a great film.
Also covered: the source material, from the 60 Minutes segment to Marie Brenner's Vanity Fair piece, the Eric Roth and Michael Mann screenplay, Bruce McGill's one scene, who should watch it tonight and who should skip it, and the question I want to leave you with: what was your origin film?
No spoilers. Everything about the plot is what you'd get from the trailer or the back of the box.
Also mentioned in this episode: Heat, Collateral, The Last of the Mohicans, The Social Network, Amadeus, Whiplash, The King's Speech, Good Will Hunting, Gladiator, Ferrari, Tony, The Trial of the Chicago 7, and 60 Minutes.
The Insider is available to rent or buy on Apple TV, Amazon, and YouTube.
What was your origin film? Tell me the title and the year. Find me at https://www.ssapod.com.
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🎬 Get the film on Prime Video: The Insider (1999)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004KR8XG2?tag=soundspeedact-20
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