“I've been to Tokyo. They sell little-girl underwear in the vending machines right on the main drag, the Ginza, or whatever. Guys in suits buying used girl panties. How is that okay? That's not okay.”
-Matt Damon, as himself, giving a typical monologue for the movie
-Matt Damon, as himself, giving a typical monologue for the movie
-Roger Ebert
“It resembles in some ways last year's Burn After Reading, another comedy out of step with prevailing conventions. But where the Coens' film went dark, Soderbergh's opts for light. Even as his tapestry of fibs is unraveling, the upbeat Whitacre enthuses, 'There are so many really nice people in the world.'"
-Christopher Orr, The New Republic
-Christopher Orr, The New Republic
-Kimberly Gadette, Indie Movies Online
Steven Soderbergh, the director of such films as the Ocean’s Trilogy, “Erin Brockovich,” and “King of the Hill” (no, not that one, the other one), brings us the tale of a corporate drone who ends up becoming something more. Matt Damon stars as Mark Whitacre, the title character of the 2009 film, “The Informant!” (Punctuation included and necessary as approved by the federal government…)
The movie is based on an all-too-true scandal involving an employee at Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) who acted as an FBI informant to expose prize-fixing in the company’s bio-product division. The FBI tracked the conspirators’ activities from 1992 to 1995. Real-life spoiler: He ended up assisting the federal government with one of the largest and most successful anti-trust investigations in U.S. history, with ADM finally settling for $100 million. However, it soon became apparent that he had embezzled a good $9 million from the company, and ended up in jail for ten years—three times as long as any of the corporate rivals he had helped convict.
His story became the subject of a book by Kurt Eichenwald, a former New York Times reporter, on which the movie was based. Noting Whitacre’s various instabilities, Eichenwald criticized the FBI’s failure to acknowledge Whitacre’s efforts as an inside man, the stress of which had apparently contributed to his mental deterioration. Subsequent books and media coverage have portrayed Whitacre in a more sympathetic light, with several FBI agents coming out in support of Whitacre and even pushing for a presidential pardon.
Judging solely from the previews, it would be impossible to realize the background behind the movie, which was billed as a sort of spy spoof, with Damon himself as the hapless “squealer” trying to stay one step ahead of the bad guys. In truth, while it does contain such elements, this only makes up a small part of the movie as a whole. Let’s face it, moviegoing audiences can only sympathize so much with Mark’s quest to stop the price fixing scheme and save the bacteria they use to purify their grain products.
In truth, this film is more of a dark comedy. We see Mark Whitacre’s journey from the beleaguered, “technicals” guy who doesn’t know his way around the FBI any more than he knows his way around the wheat vats, to the man who basically tries to extort the government, and his own employer, out of millions. Throughout this whole journey, the viewer gets a sense of a man who is clearly without a clue—the world is his “Office,” and he is the Michael Scott of informants.
Soderbergh makes use of a sort of “jazz” soundtrack, and a carefree, matter-of-fact narration from Whitacre himself, to establish a contrast between the reality of Whitacre’s situation and his absolute disconnect from that reality. We see a man who has guaranteed his own hanging even as he puts his coworkers on the gallows. He has a flighty personality, even “forgetting” how much money he has taken from ADM. He has soliloquys about polar bears or making new friends, even as he heads to a business meeting to record a secret discussion between the price fixers. The end result is someone so crazy, he is basically his own worst enemy.
Even the various side characters are cast by notable comedians—including Joel McHale as one of the FBI agents, Patton Oswalt as a prosecuting attorney, and Paul F. Tompkins as one of the task force heads—to make us question just whether or not Whitacre should even be taking his attorneys, his coworkers, his FBI liaisons, or any of his other associates in the investigation seriously. The end result is something absolutely surreal.
One last thing to consider: This is the FBI we’re dealing with, and this is a movie made specifically to make one of their informants seem sympathetic—if somewhat skewed as far as his priorities are concerned. Granted, it’s a comedy, and we’re not supposed to take it seriously. Even so, if the government can make an affidavit into a script, why not? (And, while we’re at it, why not get the director of “Ocean’s Eleven” on board?)
So, overall, is “The Informant!” a good movie? Yes. Is it a great movie? Yes. It’s surreal, hilarious, and simply different from anything you’ll see in theaters. Matt Damon, worlds away from his uber-efficient Bond 2.0 of the Bourne movies, is just as comfortable in the absent-minded persona of one of the FBI’s most notorious informants.
Note: The Brewsky is an enthusiastic contributor and movie reviewer. You know, there are probably millions of bloggers out there. There was one blog where this guy has two kids. He would superimpose them, use PhotoShop or something like that, so the kids—toddlers, maybe 2 or 3 years old—are up against this city, and it’s all on fire and stuff. So the kids ended up looking like Godzilla, just stomping around. It was very funny. I wonder if I can get whoever did that picture to do my kids' graduation cakes.
The movie is based on an all-too-true scandal involving an employee at Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) who acted as an FBI informant to expose prize-fixing in the company’s bio-product division. The FBI tracked the conspirators’ activities from 1992 to 1995. Real-life spoiler: He ended up assisting the federal government with one of the largest and most successful anti-trust investigations in U.S. history, with ADM finally settling for $100 million. However, it soon became apparent that he had embezzled a good $9 million from the company, and ended up in jail for ten years—three times as long as any of the corporate rivals he had helped convict.
His story became the subject of a book by Kurt Eichenwald, a former New York Times reporter, on which the movie was based. Noting Whitacre’s various instabilities, Eichenwald criticized the FBI’s failure to acknowledge Whitacre’s efforts as an inside man, the stress of which had apparently contributed to his mental deterioration. Subsequent books and media coverage have portrayed Whitacre in a more sympathetic light, with several FBI agents coming out in support of Whitacre and even pushing for a presidential pardon.
Judging solely from the previews, it would be impossible to realize the background behind the movie, which was billed as a sort of spy spoof, with Damon himself as the hapless “squealer” trying to stay one step ahead of the bad guys. In truth, while it does contain such elements, this only makes up a small part of the movie as a whole. Let’s face it, moviegoing audiences can only sympathize so much with Mark’s quest to stop the price fixing scheme and save the bacteria they use to purify their grain products.
In truth, this film is more of a dark comedy. We see Mark Whitacre’s journey from the beleaguered, “technicals” guy who doesn’t know his way around the FBI any more than he knows his way around the wheat vats, to the man who basically tries to extort the government, and his own employer, out of millions. Throughout this whole journey, the viewer gets a sense of a man who is clearly without a clue—the world is his “Office,” and he is the Michael Scott of informants.
Soderbergh makes use of a sort of “jazz” soundtrack, and a carefree, matter-of-fact narration from Whitacre himself, to establish a contrast between the reality of Whitacre’s situation and his absolute disconnect from that reality. We see a man who has guaranteed his own hanging even as he puts his coworkers on the gallows. He has a flighty personality, even “forgetting” how much money he has taken from ADM. He has soliloquys about polar bears or making new friends, even as he heads to a business meeting to record a secret discussion between the price fixers. The end result is someone so crazy, he is basically his own worst enemy.
Even the various side characters are cast by notable comedians—including Joel McHale as one of the FBI agents, Patton Oswalt as a prosecuting attorney, and Paul F. Tompkins as one of the task force heads—to make us question just whether or not Whitacre should even be taking his attorneys, his coworkers, his FBI liaisons, or any of his other associates in the investigation seriously. The end result is something absolutely surreal.
One last thing to consider: This is the FBI we’re dealing with, and this is a movie made specifically to make one of their informants seem sympathetic—if somewhat skewed as far as his priorities are concerned. Granted, it’s a comedy, and we’re not supposed to take it seriously. Even so, if the government can make an affidavit into a script, why not? (And, while we’re at it, why not get the director of “Ocean’s Eleven” on board?)
So, overall, is “The Informant!” a good movie? Yes. Is it a great movie? Yes. It’s surreal, hilarious, and simply different from anything you’ll see in theaters. Matt Damon, worlds away from his uber-efficient Bond 2.0 of the Bourne movies, is just as comfortable in the absent-minded persona of one of the FBI’s most notorious informants.
Note: The Brewsky is an enthusiastic contributor and movie reviewer. You know, there are probably millions of bloggers out there. There was one blog where this guy has two kids. He would superimpose them, use PhotoShop or something like that, so the kids—toddlers, maybe 2 or 3 years old—are up against this city, and it’s all on fire and stuff. So the kids ended up looking like Godzilla, just stomping around. It was very funny. I wonder if I can get whoever did that picture to do my kids' graduation cakes.
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