Plotline: Al Pacino is a crusading TV journalist who challenges an Establishment cover-up. He's defending an ex-employee of a big tobacco firm (Russell Crowe) who has turned whistle-blower, claiming cigarette manufacturers have deliberately been making their products more addictive.
Smoke screen: The film is based on real (and recent) events. The names haven't been changed - just a few of the facts, in order to make Pacino's character an all-round superhero.
Smoking jackets: The director is Michael Mann - yes, all this smoke was preceded by Heat. As in that film (and Mann's television creation, Miami Vice), the designer tailoring is immaculate.
Smoke gets in your eyes: Mann shoots lots of the movie from the point of view of the characters - even a sequence in which Pacino is blindfolded.
Heavy smoker: Crowe is likely to get at least an Oscar nomination for his impersonation of nervous, flabby Jeffrey Wigand, the real-life whistle-blower. He gained weight for the role, and presumably he now wants rid of it. Has he considered 20 B&H a day?
Verdicts: 'An edge-of-your-seat, gut-churning thriller' - Newsweek. 'Riveting suspense, dynamite performances, strafing wit and dramatic provocation' - Rolling Stone.
