By skyforbes The acting is phenomenal – even those with smaller parts. I thought Al and Russell Crowe played off each other beautifully, as did Al and Christopher Plummer. It really was a masterclass in acting
I honestly could just watch Al all day in here (any movie, lol, but I’m still WOW’d by this)- everything I love about him is displayed in the Insider. I love words, and language, so I adore any monologue he does – and he has some great ones here, particularly the scene, when he’s ripping his bosses a new one for essentially quitting the story.
The moment when Wallace betrays him, his face says it all – his soul is crushed. He said so much without saying a word – I was heartbroken for him. Later, at the end, when he tells Wallace that what was broken can never be fixed – such a quietly sad moment. The stakes were real here – lives were affected.
I’ll end on this:
According to Russell Crowe, both he and Pacino were being considered for Oscar campaigns. When consulted, Pacino told the studio to "back the kid" meaning Crowe.
This was when Crowe wasn't a major star, before Gladiator made him huge. Years later, when Cinderella Man was making its own Oscar push, Crowe and Paul Giammati (sic) were in the frame. Crowe told the studio to "back the kid…"