Movie Review - The Informant

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The Informant represents a return to more commercial fare for Steven Soderbergh after his last two films (a largely improvised experimental film about a prostitute and a two-part four-and-half hour biopic on Che Guevara).  Starring a portly Matt Damon as Mark Whitacre, president of Archer Daniels Midland’s BioProducts Division, the film is a comedy that tells the (somewhat) true story of the highest-level corporate executive to ever turn whistleblower.  Whitacre is an upwardly-mobile family man when he decides to rat-out his employer (and himself) for price-fixing to FBI Agent Brian Shepard (Scott Bakula).  Shepard, who is at Whitacre’s home for an unrelated reason, is taken aback by his confession.  But he moves swiftly to bring him into the fold and immediately sends him to work with a wire on.  Much to the FBI’s surprise, Whitacre isn’t the least bit concerned for his own welfare (whether it be personal or professional).  In fact, he’s having the time of his life. 

Whitacre is clearly a genius but, as is often the case, there’s a difference between being intelligent and being smart.  His mind is constantly working…it’s just not working on the things it should be.  This is made evident by Damon’s narration illustrating Whitacre’s internal monologue.  His thoughts rarely if ever have anything to do with the task at hand.  Typically they take the form of a stream of conscious series of non-sequiturs.  Funny? Yes.  Interesting? Always.  Relevant?  Never.

While the price-fixing in question didn’t cost the average person much individually, collectively Archer Daniels Midland was stealing billions of dollars from the American public.  But as the investigation progresses, it becomes slowly apparent that Whitacre isn’t all that he appears to be…and not in the usual “twisty-turny” way that one might expect.  While the film does have surprises, it’s not your typical tale of duplicity and betrayal.  The film is a whimsical take on a serious story.  It’s both a stylized character study and a mystery; just what would make a person like Whitacre throw it all away?  Unless you already know the story, the answer will undoubtedly surprise you.

Damon is fantastic in the role of Whitacre.  He makes the character immensely likable even when he’s doing unlikable things.  Soderbergh keeps the pace brisk and the tone light and frothy.  However, for all of its whimsy, the film is never quite as funny as it thinks.  That’s not to say it’s not funny but, at times, it seems more amused with itself than the audience is.  It’s an interesting, well-made film but its tenor makes it more of curio than it should be; never quite solemn enough to be taken seriously nor funny enough to be a full-fledged comedy. 

On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being The Insider and 1 being Corky Romano, The Informant gets a 6.

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