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Another solo episode this week as we discuss Michael Mann's thriller 'The Insider', based on the true story of whistleblower Jeffrey Wigand and his explosive 1996 interview with 60 Minutes that exposed secrets about the tobacco industry and their complicity in manipulating their product with known carcinogens to increase the addictive effect of nicotine. The film is at once the story of the the tremendous power of corporate entities to take down those who seek to share the truth with the American public and an expressionist masterpiece that showcases some of Mann's most disciplined and mature directorial work.
We discuss the film's seismic lead performances from dual leads Al Pacino and a career-best Russell Crowe. Then, we praise the Michael Mann & Eric Roth script, and its critical portrayal of its subjects, avoiding lionization. Finally, we discuss the story's terrible prescience, and how the film's shock at corporate media interests overruling the efforts of journalists can sometimes feel quaint by today's standards.
Read Marie Brenner's profile of Jeffrey Wigand "The Man Who Knew Too Much" in Vanity Fair.
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Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish