10 Underrated Films From 1999
1. The Insider
Michael Mann takes the dry subject matter of a 60 Minutes interview with tobacco industry whistleblower Jeffrey Wigand and makes it thrilling and unexpectedly spiritual. The gorgeous cinematography and evocative score thrust you into Wigand’s mind. You feel his paranoia and the weight of every decision he makes as his former employers threaten to destroy his and his family’s lives.
The excellent performances by Russell Crowe and Al Pacino elevate this story to grand heights. Crowe gives his most restrained performance as the tortured Wigand, and Pacino chews an appropriate amount of scenery as fiery 60 Minutes producer Lowell Bergman. They represent opposite sides of the coin who work together to take on the terrifying, unlimited power of tobacco corporation Brown & Williamson.
The film tackles several ideas, but the most damning takeaway is how the moral depravity of corporations infects and absorbs everything in America. Even the hard-hitting honesty of journalism can fall victim to corporate pressure, and ordinary people like Wigand suffer the most.