The Informant! (2009)
A rising star at agri-industry giant Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Mark Whitacre suddenly turns whistleblower. Even as he exposes his company’s multi-national price-fixing conspiracy to the FBI, Whitacre envisions himself being hailed as a hero of the common man and handed a promotion.
After watching the film the first time I felt I was missing something. The second viewing didn't show me anything that was missed the first time. The storyline is creative and unique, however the film making is poor at best. It is almost painful to the eyes to watch. Super bright back lighting while the focal point has shadows. Shaky steady cam segments only made it worse. I feel that if the movie had been made with better visual appeal that it would have received higher reviews. For me the lighting took attention away from the storyline in a severely detrimental way.
Interesting, witty, and intelligent movie which features one of Matt Damon's best performances to date. Damon shows a remarkable acting range and a maturity that proves he is one of Hollywood's bigger talents. Second viewing brings out even more laugh out loud humor. The film should have gotten Oscar considerations for Best Picture and Best Actor. Incredibly well written and an absolute hoot to watch. A must see!
Ever since Steven Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan" came out in 1998, Matt Damon's nickname has been Matt "Da Man" Damon. His character in "The Informant!" may not be "Da Man" but I can tell you right now that, after seeing the film, Matt Damon is still "Da Man" as an actor.
The film revolves around a man named Mark Whitcare who was born in Warren County, Ohio. The true story tells the audience that he and his family have moved to Decatur, Illinois and he has been working for lysine developing company called ADM and he has even found his way into upper management. Whitcare is unwillingly pressured by the FBI into working as an informant against the illegal price-fixing activities of his own company. He then gradually gets the idea that he's a true secret agent. But as his constant lies keep piling up, his world begins to crash down on him.
The main goal of a film is to be interesting. Because of this, some movies try to be different. In fact, some movies try to be too different and they don't make any sense like "A Clockwork Orange." But some films try to be strange and end up being quite good like "Donnie Darko" or "Edward Scissorhands." "The Informant!" was random and bizarre and I liked it because it looks at itself as a comedic satire and doesn't take itself too seriously. The wide range of instruments in its score, the narration of random topics at certain points, and the weird dissection of Whitcare's bipolar disorder were all great elements a different movie. Matt Damon gives a stellar performance along with the movie's supporting cast who help the audience understand the story better because of their comedic timing and the way they develop their own characters. The writing is sharp and the story does a good job a stretching out a boring story into an interesting and funny film.
Even though there isn't much to dislike about the movie, the film is simply good, not great. I honestly think there were no faults to "The Informant!" yet there was nothing ground-breaking about it and it just needed more great elements than mentioned here to make it a four star movie.
But if I were to get strongly specific then I would ask, "Why does there need to be an exclamation mark at the end of the title?" After watching the film, I still don't understand why it's there and I found no secret meaning or anything of the sort. Anyway, I like the film and I think you should see it the theater or buy it on DVD.
