I liked this movie a bunch better back in '99. Back then I still respected 60 Minutes and the idea of the hero journalist still had some credibility. It's much harder not to take sides in 2005 than it was six years ago.
The movie centers on Al Pacino playing a 60 Minutes producer as he stumbles across a former tabacco industry researcher. Russell Crowe plays the researcher. He's been fired from his position due to a combination of disagreement on research and an inability to control his temper. He thinks that Big Tobacco execs perjured themselves before congress when they testified that they don't think tobacco is addictive. He wants to tell his story but he has signed a confidentiality agreement and can't come forward.
Pacino helps Crowe to come forward. He urges Crowe to follow his consience. He manipulates a law suit in another state as a way to get his testimony on record. He brings security to his home to fend off death threats. He finally gets the interview and then runs into a wall.
CBS corporate is afraid of being sued for 'tortious interference'. The theory is that they have urged Crowe to come forward and break his agreement. CBS would then be liable for damages which could run into the billions. Corporate squashes the piece and what follows is a battle for the integrity of the journalistic effort.
I can't help but think that this movie was rewarded because it stuck it to Big Tobacco. The execs are cartoonish villans. The dramatic highpoints are mostly false alarms thrown in to break the tempo of the story. And the central point is that Tobacco execs lied (big surprise). The threat of 'tortious interference' is specious at best and you'd think the movie would have been happy to fight that fight. But it's hard to attack specious lawsuits and make a movie that's hard on tobacco.
I thought the movie was overrated. Fair at best.
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