Set in the mid-1990s, the film revolves around a former tobacco company executive who is fired as he sends documents to a producer for the CBS show 60 Minutes which leads to bigger things about what this man knows despite the confidentiality agreement, he had signed to not speak out against this corporation he worked for. It is a film that explores a man who knows something about what the tobacco industry is doing as he is aware of what he is risking but also feels like the public needs to know as this producer believes this is a story that the world needs to hear. The film’s screenplay by Michael Mann and Eric Roth is straightforward in its narrative while it is really a study of two men trying to get the truth out to the public amidst the many obstacles, they would endure including death threats, smear campaigns, legal maneuvering, and corporate pressure. Even as both men are pushed to extremes and their backs against the wall as the idea of truth and integrity becomes less valued in favor of greed.
The first act opens with producer Lowell Bergman (Al Pacino) in a Middle East country trying to convince the head of Hezbollah in Sheikh Falladah (Cliff Curtis) for an interview with Mike Wallace which he succeeds as it establishes the kind of reasoning and level of comfort Bergman has on those who want to talk to the press. Upon getting a box of documents at his home, Bergman learns who sent the box in former Brown & Williamson executive Dr. Jeffrey Wigand (Russell Crowe) as they meet in a hotel where Dr. Wigand only tells him some details about the documents and nothing else due to a confidentiality agreement he signed following his termination. Bergman realizes that Dr. Wigand knows more following threats from the people at Brown & Williamson forcing Dr. Wigand to reveal what he knows in an interview with Mike Wallace that doesn’t get aired as his family is forced to move from an upper-class home to something more modest as it would take a toll on his marriage to his wife Liane (Diane Venora) who doesn’t know what has been going on until the threats come in.
The second act plays into Bergman and Dr. Wigand dealing with Brown & Williamson’s attempt to block everything the latter is to say as they get help from Richard Scruggs (Colm Feore) who has been battling the tobacco industry as he would represent Dr. Wigand with his own team in the state of Mississippi. It would also be this moment where Dr. Wigand must settle for a new line of work in being a high school chemistry teacher while also teaching Japanese though he does feel like he would have influence through his testimony. However, the film’s third act plays into the world of corporate politics where CBS find themselves being bought as there are those who want to suppress the story leaving Bergman and Dr. Wigand in a bigger mess than they’re both in where the former does what he can to go public about what is happening as it would mark a major change in the way news is presented to the public.
Mann’s direction is intoxicating in its overall presentation where it is shot on various locations including New York City, Los Angeles, Lebanon, the Bahamas, Big Bear Valley in California, and Pascagoula, Mississippi to play into a moment in time when news brought a sense of awareness to the world. Mann’s direction is stylish as he shoots much of the film with hand-held cameras to get a sense of urgency into what is happening inside the offices, a news studio, and inside a house. While there are some wide shots in some of the locations including some gorgeous compositions where Mann places a character on a location whether it is on a beach or at a golf park. Much of Mann’s direction emphasizes medium shots and close-ups to create an intimacy as well as a sense of dramatic suspense for the characters in the situations they are in. Even in scenes during meetings where Mann would carefully create compositions where the actor is at the forefront and who is in the background.
Mann’s direction also has this element of realism such as the deposition scene as it takes place in the actual building where Dr. Wigand’s real deposition took place in Pascagoula, Mississippi. Mann does create this sense of tension where the Brown & Williamson legal team keep interrupting one of Dr. Wigand’s lawyers who mouths off at one of them over the gag order towards Dr. Wigand in his native Kentucky. The film’s third act takes a major tonal shift though the air of dramatic suspense is still in tact as it play into corporate politics and how they can suppress a story. Even to the point that a few of Bergman’s allies, including Wallace reluctantly give in except for Bergman as he believes that he must do what he can to get Dr. Wigand’s story out as he feels it is a threat to the free press. The film’s ending is about what needs to be done but it comes at a price where everyone loses something but something much bigger is lost as it relates to what the news is. Notably as it marked a major change where the truth becomes compromised by the ideals and interests of others who want to have things their way. Overall, Mann crafts an evocative and exhilarating film about a news producer trying to get a former tobacco corporate executive to tell the truth to the American public.
Cinematographer Dante Spinotti does phenomenal work with the film’s cinematography with its usage of low-key colors and lighting for some of the exterior scenes in the day and night including scenes in the rain as well as some stylish lighting for some of the interior scenes at CBS and at the different homes that Dr. Wigand would live in. Editors William Goldenberg, Paul Rubell, and David Rosenbloom do amazing work with the editing with its stylish usage of jump-cuts while also allowing shots to linger for a bit to play into the drama through some straightforward cutting as it is a highlight of the film. Production designer Brian Morris and art director Margie Stone McShirley do brilliant work with the look of the different homes that Dr. Wigand and his family live in as well as the interiors of the offices and studios for CBS in New York City and the other places that Bergman and his CBS crew go to. Costume designer Anna B. Sheppard does excellent work with the costumes as it is casual with the suits that Dr. Wigand wears as well as some of the clothing that Bergman wears.
Hair designer Vera Mitchell and makeup effects supervisor Keith VanderLaan do fantastic work with the look of Dr. Wigand in the grey hair that he has as well as the hairstyle of Mrs. Wigand. Visual effects supervisor Chris Watts does terrific work with some of the film’s visual effects in the usage of video as well as some set dressing for some scenes. Sound editors Gregg Baxter and Gregory King do superb work with the sound in the way cars sound up close and from afar in a suburb or in a city as well as the sparse textures in some of the sound mixes. The film’s music by Lisa Gerrard and Pieter Bourke is incredible for its world music-based score filled with vocals and dissonant instruments that play into the atmosphere of some of the drama as it is a highlight of the film. The film’s soundtrack features some additional score pieces by Graeme Ravell as well as pieces by Gustavo Santaolalla, Jan Garbarek, Massive Attack, Einstürzende Neubauten, Curt Sobel, Avro Part, the Casbah Orchestra, and David Darling.
The casting by Bonnie Timmerman is wonderful as it feature some notable small roles and appearances from Evan Podell as Bergman’s son, Breckin Meyer as Bergman’s stepson, Wings Hauser as a Brown & Williamson attorney at the deposition, Willie C. Carpenter as a newspaper editor friend of Bergman, Paul Perri and Wanda De Jesus as a couple of FBI agents posing as geologists meeting Bergman for a source of the whereabouts of an infamous American terrorist, Rip Torn as a CBS executive leader in John Scanlan, Roger Bart as a hotel manager who tries to relay a message to Dr. Wigand in a scene in the third act, real-life attorneys Jack Palladino and Mike Moore as themselves who help out Dr. Wigand, Gary Sandy as an attorney for Brown & Williamson CEO Thomas Sandefur, Cliff Curtis as Hezbollah leader Sheikh Falladah, Renee Olstead as Dr. Wigand’s eldest daughter Deborah who suffers from acute asthma, Hailee Kate Eisenberg as Dr. Wigand’s youngest daughter Barbara, Stephen Tobolowsky as CBS News president Eric Kluster, Gina Gershon as CBS attorney Helen Caperelli, Bruce McGill as the attorney Ron Motley who is anti-tobacco crusader, Lynn Thigpen as a high school principal who hires Dr. Wigand, Pete Hamill as a reporter for the New York Times, Nestor Serrano as an FBI agent who tries to help Bergman over a few things, Linda Hart as an ex-wife of Dr. Wigand used for a smear campaign, and Michael Gambon in a superb small performance as the Brown & Williamson CEO Thomas Sandefur who makes some serious threats towards Dr. Wigand.
Lindsay Crouse is fantastic in a small role as Bergman’s wife Sharon Tiller who is also a journalist that understands the chaos that Bergman is going through while is also someone who ensures that he does not lose himself. Debi Mazar is excellent as Debbie De Luca as a CBS News employee who helps Bergman in gathering sources and such while also having connections of her own regarding legal matters. Colm Feore is brilliant as Richard Scruggs as an attorney battling tobacco as he learns about Dr. Wigand’s situation as he realizes he help Dr. Wigand over his issues while also having him take part in this big battle against tobacco. Philip Baker Hall is amazing as 60 Minutes creator Don Hewitt who is aware of the importance of Dr. Wigand’s story while also finding himself dealing with corporate pressure as it relates to those wanting to buy CBS. Diane Venora is incredible as Liane Wigand as Dr. Wigand’s wife whose life changes because of the death threats and change of lifestyle while being shielded into what her husband is going through to the point that she becomes unsure if him being a whistleblower is a good idea.
Christopher Plummer is great as Mike Wallace as the famed journalist/reporter for 60 Minutes who would interview Dr. Wigand as he is aware of how the story is while later dealing with pressures from corporate in suppressing the story where he becomes unsure to give in or have the interview aired. Russell Crowe is phenomenal as Dr. Jeffrey Wigand as a former Brown & Williamson science executive who gets fired while he knows things that he feels could be harmful to the public about cigarettes where Crowe brings this sense of restraint and weariness of a man being pushed to the edge. Even where he sacrifices a lot where Crowe brings in one of his career-defining performances of a man just trying to do the right thing. Finally, there’s Al Pacino in a tremendous performance as Lowell Bergman as a producer for 60 Minutes who learns about this story and wants it out for the world to hear while also trying to help Dr. Wigand and his family over their death threats. It is a somber performance from Pacino, who does bring in some charm and wit while is also someone who believes in something only to see what is happening to the news media as it head towards the 21st Century with a weariness that is a lot to bear.
The Insider is an outstanding film by Michael Mann that features two top-notch leading performances from Al Pacino and Russell Crowe. Along with its great supporting cast, intoxicating visuals, stylish editing, study of truth and what those are willing to suppress it, and a mesmerizing score by Lisa Gerrard and Pieter Bourke. It is a film that explores two men trying to get something big known to the public while dealing with forces that does not want the people to know the truth about the dangers of tobacco. In the end, The Insider is a magnificent film by Michael Mann.
Michael Mann Films: The Jericho Mile - Thief - The Keep - Manhunter - L.A. Takedown - The Last of the Mohicans (1992 film) - Heat - Ali - Collateral - Miami Vice - Public Enemies - Blackhat - (Ferrari) – (Heat 2) - The Auteurs #73: Michael Mann (Pt.1) – (Pt. 2)
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More than 30 years after events in which a young woman meets a demonic figure named Betelgeuse, the film revolves around that woman, her stepmother, and daughter who return to the small town following the death of her father where strange events occurred in the Afterlife involving Betelgeuse and his ex-wife seeking revenge on him. It is a film that does not just explore loss but also a woman dealing with the traumatic events when she was a teenager as she is forced to confront her past as well as her own relationship with her daughter. The film’s screenplay by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar is straightforward in its narrative as it plays into a woman who remains haunted by Betelgeuse where she has spent her adult life hosting a TV show relating to ghosts whom she can see. Yet, the show has also been the reason Lydia Deetz has become estranged from her teenage daughter Astrid (Jenna Ortega) who does not believe her mother’s claims, nor does she believe in ghosts as she wonders why her mother could see ghosts but not her late father.
The death of Lydia’s father Charles Deetz forces Lydia, Astrid, and Lydia’s stepmother Delia to return to Winter River fin the funeral as well as cleaning out their old house where Astrid discovered a flyer at the attic that has Betelgeuse’s name. Astrid would meet a fellow teenager in Jeremy (Arthur Conti) as they share a love of Dostoyevsky while Lydia’s boyfriend/producer Rory publicly proposed to her during the wake adding to the growing tension between Lydia and Astrid while Delia also is not fond of Rory as she’s concerned with cleaning out the house and express her grief through art. The script does play into Lydia and Delia’s relationship with each other as the former feels lost as she turns to the latter despite the issues they have had in the past. Still, the presence of Betelgeuse still looms as he has problems of his own in the fact that his ex-wife Delores (Monica Bellucci) has returned following a strange accident involving a janitor. Delores and Betelgeuse met during the plague as the former was part of a soul-sucking cult that tried to kill the latter only for Betelgeuse to kill her in retaliation. While Lydia is reluctant to ask for Betelgeuse’s help when Astrid is sent to the Afterlife, Betelgeuse does help her though it does come with some risks as he is an opportunist who will always want something. Still, he does want to show Lydia that he does care despite his motives.
Tim Burton’s direction is stylish and full of whimsy in terms of re-establishing a few visual clues and some Easter eggs relating to the original 1988 film but also paying tribute to that film as its opening sequence mirrors the same one from that film. Shot on location in Vermont and Massachusetts with some interior shots created in London, Burton does play into these two different worlds that is the living and the dead where Lydia’s show is filled with these quirks that is expected in shows about the paranormal. Yet, Burton also infuses the film with different kinds of style ranging from European horror in a sequence where Betelgeuse tells his employees about how he met his ex-wife to stop-motion animation in discussing how Charles Deetz had died. Still, Burton knows when to break from the humor and horror to create scenes that are straightforward in his compositions where he uses close-ups and medium shots in the way characters interact with one another. There are some wide shots that Burton uses though he prefers to maintain some simplicity when it comes to the compositions and elaborate set pieces.
Burton also plays into this idea of death where there are some humorous moments as it relates to Delia’s over-the-top approach to grief as she expresses it through art as well as well as some of the antics that Betelgeuse does in the building he works at. Burton also maintains some suspense once Astrid is sent to the Afterlife as there are stakes not just for the Deetz but also for Betelgeuse himself as he is also being chased by the ghost detective Wolf Jackson (Willem Dafoe) who was once a B-movie actor. The film’s climax is a throwback of sorts to the climax of the original film, but Burton brings in a more elaborate setting that involves musical dance numbers and other silly things that is expected from Burton. Overall, Burton crafts a dazzling and offbeat film about a woman reaching out to her former tormentor to help her retrieve her daughter in the Afterlife.
Cinematographer Haris Zambarloukos does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography with the usage of natural lighting for the daytime exteriors in some scenes as well as the usage of colorful lighting for the interior scenes in the Afterlife. Editor Jay Prichidny does excellent work with the editing as it is straightforward in its approach to rhythmic cuts to play into the humor and suspense. Production designer Mark Scruton, along with supervising art directors Nick Gottschalk and Andrew Palmer plus set decorators Lori Mazuer and David Morison, does amazing work with the look of the Afterlife offices and hallways as well as the interiors of the old Deetz/Maitland home that also featured additional work from the first film’s production designer Bo Welch who serves as the film’s visual consultant. Costume designer Colleen Atwood does fantastic work with the costumes from the black clothing that Lydia wears as well as some of the clothes that Betelgeuse wears and the stylish clothing that Astrid and Delia wear.
Hair/makeup designer Christine Blundell does incredible work with the look of the characters from the look of the dead in the Afterlife as well as Delia’s red hair. Visual effects supervisor Angus Bickerton and special effects supervisor Stefano Pepin, along with creature effects designer Neal Scanlan, do phenomenal work with the visual effects in the mixture of practical and CGI effects to create a unique world . Sound designer Jimmy Boyle does superb work with the sound in some of the sound effects created as well as the atmosphere of a room during the wake scene as well as the raucous atmosphere of the scenes in the Afterlife.
The film’s music by Danny Elfman is wonderful for its bombastic orchestral score filled with grand string and brass arrangements that play into the sense of suspense and humor while music supervisors James Balmont and Matthew Lawrenson create a fun soundtrack that features two different versions of the song MacArthur Park sung by Richard Harris and a disco version by Donna Summer. The rest of the music soundtrack also features music from the Bee Gees, Mazzy Star, Scott Weiland, Pino Donaggio, Sigur Ros, and Richard Marx as it is a highlight of the film.
The casting by Sophie Holland is great as it feature some notable small roles and appearances from Georgiana Beedle as Jackson’s secretary who always brings him a cup of coffee, Filipe Cates as a mysterious figure Astrid would meet in Vlad, casting director Sophie Holland as a hot dog lady with a stick who runs the office when the dead arrive, Sami Silane as an artist in Le Tigre who is upset at Delia for cancelling her show, and Amy Nuttall as the real estate agent Jane Butterfield who took over the business from her mother as she reveals some crucial information to Lydia that would be a key plot-point to the film. Other notable small roles include Santiago Cabrera as Astrid’s late father Richard who had died in South America, Burn Gorman as Father Damien who performed the funeral for Charles Deetz as well as other events in the town, and Nick Kellington as Betelgeuse’s right-hand shrinker-zombie friend Bob who helps run things for Betelgeuse.
Arthur Conti is superb as Jeremy as a young man Astrid meets after crashing her bicycle into his fence where he offers a chance to help Astrid see her father though he has motives of his own. Willem Dafoe is excellent as Wolf Jackson as a former B-movie actor who leads a paranormal detective force as he tries to deal with Delores and the antics of Betelgeuse where Dafoe gets the chance to ham it up as someone who really loves playing the role of a detective. Monica Bellucci is fantastic as Delores as Betelgeuse’s ex-wife who is part of a soul-sucking cult that tried to kill Betelgeuse during the black plague only to be killed by him in retaliation as she is eager to get revenge on him. Justin Theroux is brilliant as Lydia’s producer/boyfriend Rory as a guy who is the embodiment of uncool as he tries everything to win over Astrid while also forcing Lydia into a wedding for publicity reasons where Theroux is fun to watch in the way he reacts to certain things as well as just being so dumb. Jenna Ortega is incredible as Astrid as Lydia’s teenage daughter who wants nothing to do with her mother as she doesn’t believe in ghosts while feeling resentful towards her mother for not seeing their late father as well as other issues where Ortega brings a lot of wit and angst to her character while also proving to funny as she has great rapport with her co-stars.
Catherine O’Hara is phenomenal as Delia Deetz as Lydia’s stepmother who becomes consumed with grief over the death of her husband as she expresses it through art in the most hilarious of ways. Notably as she does some things that are odd, yet O’Hara often keeps things lively while also proving to be understanding over Lydia’s relationship with Astrid. Winona Ryder is great as Lydia Deetz as a paranormal TV show host who is still dealing with trauma as well as loss where Ryder keeps a lot of her performance straightforward while retaining a few quirks in her choice of clothing. Even though she is determined to not deal with Betelgeuse but realizes that she needs him to help retrieve her daughter in the Afterlife. Finally, there’s Michael Keaton in a tremendous performance as Betelgeuse as the demon who still pines for Lydia while dealing with the return of his ex-wife as he is eager to be rid of Delores while also hoping to reunite with Lydia in the hopes of marrying her. Keaton adds a lot of energy and charisma to his performance as well as the complexity of someone who likes to create chaos while also wanting to show Lydia that he really does care in his own offbeat way.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is a marvelous film by Tim Burton that features great performances from Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, and Jenna Ortega. Along with its supporting ensemble cast, amazing set pieces, dazzling visuals, a fun music soundtrack, and a story about loss and family. It is a film that does not try to be its predecessor while also acknowledging it in a loving way while also wanting to be entertaining and not taking itself too seriously. In the end, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is a remarkable film by Tim Burton.
Tim Burton Films: (Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure) – Beetlejuice - Batman - (Edward Scissorhands) – Batman Returns - Ed Wood - (Mars Attacks!) – (Sleepy Hollow) – (Planet of the Apes (2001 film)) – (Big Fish) – (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) – (Corpse Bride) – (Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street) – (Alice in Wonderland (2010 film)) – (Dark Shadows) – (Frankenweenie) – (Big Eyes) – (Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children) – (Dumbo (2019 film))
© thevoid99 2024
