The Informant!
a review by Jason Wilson
The Informant!
Directed by Steven Soderbergh
Screenplay by Scott Z. Burns adapted from the novel by Kurt Eichenwald
Starring Matt Damon, Scott Bakula, Melanie Lynskey, Joel McHale, Tony Hale.
From the beginning of The Informant, it is obvious that the film could have been told in the same vein as a Michael Crichton or John Grisham adaptation. It could have channelled Michael Mann’s masterpiece The Insider. Instead, Steven Soderbergh doesn’t play it straight; he twists the whistleblower story on its head.
Of course it’s mostly due to the main character Mark Whitacre (Damon). He seems like a nerdy, moral man with conviction about how he wants to lead his life. He gets wind of an extortion scheme against his company stemming from their illegal price fixing activity. Whitacre is an executive in a grain manufacturing company quickly climbing the corporate ladder when he suddenly becomes a federal mole. What a great guy!
It wouldn’t be much of a movie, based on truth or not, if that was the beginning and end of the story. Sure there’s conflict, but it would have been one way to a resolution. Luckily for the viewer, nothing is exactly as it seems, least of all Whitacre himself.
The ad campaign doesn’t exactly do the film justice. While much of The Informant is played for laughs – specifically Whitacre’s inner monologue – it carries with it a serious undertone. Whitacre is involved in a FBI investigation and while it bumbles along there are dire moments that send the film into the murky waters of drama and thriller. Mixing genre is a dicey choice because some audience members want to see one thing or another and they gear themselves to do so. If a viewer expects to see a comedic romp, he or she may not gel when the light hearted affair turns serious.
In this case, some may be put off that The Informant is not a full blown comedy like the trailers suggest. But it’s a breath of fresh air. Very little of the final act is revealed in the trailers. There is an element of surprise here. Unless you read the book you probably won’t know exactly where the film is going. Isn’t that worth some praise? If the film was garbage no. But The Informant is a well balanced movie with solid performances across the board.
Damon’s Mark Whitacre is the goofiest face of all. Decked with a wild moustache, floppy hairdo and huge glasses he is unassuming and some might even believe an idiot savant. He acts so ridiculous and clueless throughout that it’s amazing this man could have reached top-tier employment within a mega-corporation. Then again…maybe it’s not so surprising. His manic idiocy (and compulsive lying) seemed like he belonged in last year’s espionage comedy by the Coen Brothers, Burn After Reading. He would have fit right in with the cast of dunces there. In this case, he is the odd character out, but it works.
Everyone else in the film is forced to play straight, as though they are in a serious dramatic film and it adds gravity to the outcome. While in Burn After Reading nothing was really at stake, people’s livelihoods are at risk here. The biggest surprise in casting the film was to see comedians Patton Oswalt, Paul F. Tompkins and Andy Daly playing serious roles while Damon is the one hamming it up.
While Whitacre’s inner monologue and his odd antics provide the bulk of the laughter, the musical score rounds it out. There’s a scene where the company is raided by the FBI and it could have been accompanied by a sweeping orchestral boom out of any courtroom thriller since The Firm or any other Grisham based movie. Instead Soderbergh uses a fluffy score reminiscent of the carnival-like theme to Curb Your Enthusiasm. It changes the mood entirely, just by swapping out one style of music for another.
The Informant is one big wink at the audience and by the end lives have crumbled and the whole truth seems further off than at the beginning. Some people will balk at the film when it’s over, claiming it not to be a satisfying conclusion. It’s dry and at times the comedy is abandoned entirely. Don’t let the trailers fool you, it’s not a mindless comedy but an intelligent thriller about corporate greed. It’s Michael Clayton with carnival music.
