| Uloga
advokatske kucke toliko odgovara Gini Gershon da nas nije briga sto je u pitanju
stereotipska podjela. Al Pacino ima dovoljno sirok talenat da je uvijek korak ispred tog
stereotipa, ali neki dijelovi uloge ostarjelog producenta CBS News, Lowella Bergmana, u
filmu "The Insider", podsjetili su me na nesto sto sam vec vidio. Isti je to
ideaslisticni, gotovo romanticarski lov na vjetrenjace koji je Frank Serpico vodio prije
nego je pronasao katarzu svoje zivotne borbe. Bergman stavlja istinu (ne vjerujte
pompeznoj najavi filma) i novinarski integritet daleko ispred savremenijih vrijednosti
poput poslovnoj odanosti i jeftinom senzacionalizmu. Ubrzo nakon sto on i reporter Mike
Wallace (odlicni Christopher Plummer) zajednicki odrade interview sa vodjom Hezbollaha, on
dobija vise nego sto se nadao u Dru Jeffreyu Wigandu, bivsem visokom zvanicniku
duhanske industrije, kojeg vrlo pazljivo igra sve popularniji Australac Russel
Crowe ("LA Confidential"). Wigand je ekskomuniciran iz velike duhanske kompanije
zbog otvorenih sukoba sa glavesinama oko njegovog istrazivanja. Ono sto on zna moze pomoci
milionima ljudi, i Bergman zna da je to vijest i zeli staviti Wigandovu pricu u magazin
"60 minutes". Njih dvojica, medjutim, treba da nadju put oko ugovora o
povjerenju kojeg je Wigand potpisao sa svojom kompanijom, i kroz labirint zakonskih
restrikcija (suptilna referenca na drugi veliki novinarski film, "All the President's
Men, Alana J. Pakule - kada sam Bergman postane podrivac, izdajica, on koristi istu
tehniku otkrivanja informacija svom kolegi iz New York Timesa kao sto Dustin Hoffman prima
informacije o Watergate skandalu; "Pitaj me sta god hoces, a ja cu ti reci da li se
varas", kaze on. Nakon sto na prvo pitanje odgovori sutnjom, kolega ga pita da li se
vara. Bergman kaze "ne" rekavsi "Jesam li ti rekao da se varas?"). Oni
razvijaju prijateljstvo, zasnovano na povjerenju, inspirisano hrabroscu, ojacano
razocarenjem. Uprkos ociglednom nedostatku efektne akcije, tok filma "The
Insider" je rijetko poremecen sporednim dogadjanjima (jedno od njih je prica o
teroristi pod nadimkom Unabomber), film ima zadivljujucu kolicinu suspensea. Pacino je,
kao i uvijek, izvrstan u svojim nadmetanjima u vikanju, ponosan u porazima i plemenit u
pobjedama. Njegov Bergman je izumiruca vrsta novinarskih radikala iz kasnih 60tih cija se
ostrica nije otupila plastikom kreditnih kartica. Mike Wallace nastoji da slijedi
Bergmanovu potragu za idealima, i ne uspijeva, ali uci iz svog neuspjeha. Cak i krotki,
ali eksplozivni Wigand nalazi iskupljenje u Bergmanovoj borbi, ali ne prije nego njegovi
neprijatelji uniste sve za sta se borio, zivot, porodicu, karijeru. Iako je njegova poruka
prilicno mracna (kada se neodoljiva sila tv novinarstva sudari sa nepokretnim predmetom
ljestvice vlasti, sila je ta koja nije dovoljno snazna), film "The Insider"
zavrsava na pozitivnoj noti, kada saznamo da ljudi sa integritetom, poput Wiganda, uprkos
teskocama, nalaze nacina da dodju do vrha, bilo da je to Nobelova nagrada za hemiju, ili
nagrada za Najboljeg ucitelja negdje u Kentuckyju. |
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The role of a lawyer-bitch suits Gina Gershon so well, we
don't care it's type-casting. Al Pacino's acting allowed him to always be a step ahead of
any type-casting, but some parts of his role of the aged CBS News producer Lowell Bergman
in "The Insider" reminded me of something I saw before. It is the same
idealistic, almost romantic windmill hunting Officer Frank Serpico had to endure before
finding catharsis of his life-long crusade. Bergman puts the truth (don't trust the
misleading trailer) and journalistic integrity way above other more contemporary values
such as corporate loyalty and cheap sensationalism. Soon after he and the reporter Mike
Wallace (an excellent Christopher Plummer) team up for exclusive interview with the leader
of Hezbollah, he gets more than he bargained for in Dr. Jeffrey Wigand, an ex-tobacco
industry executive, very finely played by increasingly popular Aussie Russel Crowe (LA
Confidential). Wigand is excommunicated from one of the big tobacco companies because of
his open disagreement with the bosses about his research. What he knows could help
millions of people, and Bergman knows it is news and wants to put Wigand's story on
"60 minutes". The two of them, however, have to find a way around the
confidentiality agreement Wigand signed with his company, and through a maze of legal
restrictions (there may be a subtle reference to another great journalistic movie, Alan J.
Pakula's "All the President's Men". When Bergman himself becomes the insider,
and the whistle-blower, he uses the same technique of revealing information to his New
York Times buddy as Dustin Hoffman uses to obtain information for the Watergate scandal;
"You ask me questions and I'll tell you if you're wrong", he says. After he
replies to the first question with silence, his interviewer asks if he's wrong. Bergman
says "no" by saying, "Did I tell you you were wrong?"). They develop a
relationship, founded on trust, inspired by courage, made stronger with disappointment.
Despite the obvious lack of car-chase-type action, the flow of The Insider is rarely
disrupted with distractions (one of them is the Unabomber story developing in the
background), and the movie has an amazing amount of suspense. Pacino is, as always,
masterful in his yelling shootouts, proud in defeats and graceful in victories. He is a
dying breed of the late 60s journalistic radicals whose edge wasn't dulled by the plastic
of the corporate credit card. Mike Wallace tries to keep up with Bergman's pursuit of
ideals and falls short, but learns from his failure. Even the tame, yet explosive Wigand
finds redemption in his and Bergman's cause, but not before their enemies have destroyed
everything he worked for, his life, his family, his career. Although its message is rather
dark (when the irresistible force of broadcast journalism collides with the immovable
object of establishment ladder, the force is not strong enough), The Insider, however,
ends on a positive note, when we find out that people with integrity, like Wigand, despite
the hardships, find their way to the top, be it Nobel Prize for Chemistry, or Best Teacher
of the Year award somewhere in Kentucky. |