Russell Crowe and Al Pacino come together for 'The Insider' -a film nominated for six Academy Awards, including best Actor (Crowe) and Best Director (Mann). This suspense drama is based on the true story of Lowell Bergman's (Pacino) battle with CBS media executives to air an interview with Jeffery Wigand (Crowe) –which will expose the tobacco industry as corrupt and leave them liable to expensive law suits. The film primarily concentrates around the relationship between Bergman and Wigand. It initially focuses on the decision by Wigand to agree to shoot the interview, the external pressures applied to prevent him doing this, and ultimate cost of this to his personal life. It then shifts to Bergman's battle to honour the promises he made to Wingman and his fight for his journalistic beliefs. This riveting drama is all the more powerful for being based on a true story. A must for Pacino fans, while Crowe demonstrates his true versatility (he is unrecognisable to any character he has played before). -Blackstar.co.uk