Michael Mann certainly knows how to craft a beautiful movie. It was a little dry for my tastes, but it is based on a true story so I suppose there's only so much artistic license one can take before that label no longer applies.As a producer, Lowell Bergman (Al Pacino) is responsible for developing news stories for the TV program 60 Minutes. He sets up the interviews for anchor Mike Wallace (Christopher Plummer), vetting them and making sure that the interviewees are comfortable telling their stories. When Bergman receives an anonymous package of information relating to practices conducted by a tobacco company, he thinks it's just another story. He reaches out to a former executive, Jeffery Wigand (Russell Crowe), to help him decipher what all the technical information means, not knowing that this decision would impact both men's lives irrevocably.
Even now, when everyone knows that smoking is terrible for your health and the health of those around you, cigarette manufacturers wield insane amounts of power over legislation and judicial findings. I can only imagine what it would have been like to stand up to them back in the 90's when this movie took place.
In recent years, both Pacino and Crowe have been phoning in their careers so it was great to look back and see both actors taking a real interest in the script and the characters, rather than just playing themselves on screen. This film was nominated for seven Oscars, but it didn't win any. 1999 was a tough year competitively. This isn't one I would own, but I'm glad I saw it.
No comments:
Post a Comment