SMT Weekly Flick by Paul Krismanits
Information Please!
The Informant! (Rated R) 108 mins.
Steven Soderbergh must be one of Hollywood’s busiest men. The guy has directed thirteen feature films since the year 2000 (including such hits as Erin Brockovich, Traffic, and Ocean’s Eleven) and he’s got even more slated for the next couple years. Yet somehow despite his jam-packed work schedule the man somehow keeps spitting out films that are never repetitive, and always find their own rhythm. Therefore it comes as no surprise when The Informant! (which was filmed in only 30 days) takes a familiar storyline and yet feels completely original.
Part of the originality comes from the fact that this film is based on a true story, and as most of us know true stories are often “too good to be true.” The Informant is the story of Mark Whitacre, the highest ranking executive in U.S. history to turn into a whistleblower. Whitacre works for Archer Daniels Midland in the early 90’s, at that point one of the 50 largest companies in the United States. ADM is a company which deals with crops, selling them to other companies all over the world while price-gouging their products and filling their execs pockets with extra dough. Whitacre is one of the beneficiaries of their deceptive dealings, yet is convinced by his wife that he should come clean in order to clear his conscience. To the FBI he goes, reporting that he knows exactly what kinds of crooked activities ADM is involved in, and claiming that he can catch them all red-handed. This all sounds good to the Feds, who have no idea that they are dealing with a guy who struggles with being bipolar and has his own axe to grind amidst the investigation.
Instead of taking the “intriguing thriller” route with The Informant!, Soderbergh instead takes us on a trip into Whitacre’s mind, and what a roller-coaster it is. We have not seen Matt Damon showcase his talents in such a way since The Talented Mr. Ripley, and even that mother of a mindbender falls short of the wackiness of Whitacre here. Damon put on 30 pounds and added a ‘stache in order to imitate the extremely ordinary-looking white collar criminal, and he may earn his first Oscar nomination as a result. I have a special place in my heart for Damon’s role as Will Hunting back in 1994, but his turn as Whitacre’s bipolar schemer might just be his best performance.
Oops, did I say criminal? Well yes, turns out Whitacre thought himself a little too clever (“I’m agent 0014,” he says, “because I’m twice as smart”), and while blowing the lid open on ADM he also decided to embezzle some money. By some I mean $9 million. Not exactly a pittance, especially back when the dollar actually was worth more than a Euro. Yes, there actually was a time…
So if I’m spoiling too much for you, no worries, the ride is more than worth it. Whitacre’s own inability to focus himself keeps The Informant! Twisting and turning, and while watching the man in action you may find yourself a little slackjawed, thinking “What is he DOING?” Of course, you’ll be laughing while doing it. While not really a comedy, the movie is comical, because it’s just so doggone nutsy. Credit Soderbergh for not simply trying to remake Michael Mann’s The Insider (which was excellent, by the way), instead doing a movie about a whistleblower that has a different feel to it, one that keeps us engrossed.
In the end, Whitacre ended up spending more time in the pen than did the guys he tattled on, but the man was no slouch. He went on to become an executive at another big company, and now lives in California, still married to his beloved Ginger. His reflection on it all? “It’s like I was two people.” Hint to the FBI; leave the whistle-blowing to one.
SCORE: 4/5
