Ryan McNeil
Do you work with someone who seems a little off? They have a demeanour that’s a tad too pleasant…you might not even be sure quite what they do…and they walk around as if there’s music playing in their head that you can’t hear?
Mark Whitacre is that sort of person, and THE INFORMANT! is his weird little story.
THE INFORMANT! is about a high level executive at Archer Daniels Midland (ADM). They manufacture lysine. ‘What’s lysine?’ you ask? I’m not entirely sure myself, except to say that it is a food additive that comes from corn, and seems to be an ingredient in everything. An odd extortion situation lands in the lap of Mark Whitacre (Matt Damon), and results in the company contacting the FBI to get involved. When the feds come calling, Whitacre has an absurd moment of blind honesty, and clues them into ADM’s price-fixing tendencies.
Why would a person do such a thing? More to the point, why would a person do such a thing unprovoked? To be fair, Whitacre is cajoled into the idea by his wife, but he wanders quite a distance down the path on his own. Partly because he believes what he’s doing is a good thing, but also because he thinks when the bad executives are punished, he’ll be the last man standing and put in charge. It takes a truly special person to come up with this sort of logic…you have to wonder what colour the sky is in their world.
Director Steven Soderbergh has been following a “one for them / one for me” pattern for quite some time with his work. I don’t always care much for his “ones for me”, but when he comes back with “ones for them” as good as this, it makes it hard to carry a grudge. THE INFORMANT! is a sad tale, but it’s one so full of absurdity and whimsy, that you have no problems going along for the ride.
The cheery music that makes up the score, and the sun-shade tint of the photography really helps you believe you are seeing the world through Whitacre’s eyes. What those elements don’t sell you, Matt Damon will in what is easily his best bit of acting in a decade. He gets lost in the haplessness of the character, who seems wickedly out of style even by 1992 standards. His oafish mannerisms and random brain droppings all help you believe you are watching the life of this poor chud…not Matt Damon playing this poor chud.
It pains me to admit that I can’t get into what makes this movie work so well. What elevates this movie is the ultimate payoff – when the morning comes and we get to see Mark Whitacre in the unforgiving light of day. It takes a one note story and makes it something so much sadder and more complicated. The thing is, I found out about this element of the movie before I saw it, and I wish I hadn’t. So if anything, I will restore its place by leaving it out of my review.
Many of us have some small element of self delusion that makes up who we are. The difference of course is that most of us know where the line is that turn those delusions from coping aids into destructive behaviour. For some, like Whitacre, the line isn’t quite so clear. While it gives some of us that little bit extra we need to get things accomplished, it’s sad to see that for someone like Mark Whitacre, it gets so out of hand that it can ruin many lives. Perhaps even his own.
I'm really looking forward to checking this movie, seems to be getting some pretty solid reviews all around, but it'll take me a little while before I get to see it.
@ Univarn… Sorry to hear that you have to wait out the limited runs before you get out to see it. It's worth the wait though.
It was actually killing me that it took me five days to write about it, since I don't read any other reviews of a movie until mine is written!
Now that its up, I've got some blogs to read…
Great review- I really enjoyed this movie, especially Damon's performance. I'm sorry you found out about a plot element before you saw it though, that's too bad.
Also, weird, my boyfriend and I were just talking about Soderbergh's "one for me, one for them" habit this morning. Like, remember Schizopolis? It's so weird to think that could come from the same guy who made Ocean's 11.
@ Alex… It's weird, even though what I found out is a matter of record, I still wish I hadn't. Maybe that's me being a spoiler-baby, but whatchagonnado?
As for Stevie-boy, at least he's trying to keep things interesting. I've never actually seen SCIZOPOLIS, but did take the bait on THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE and FULL FRONTAL (Yikes). Pardon me while I reaffirm my fandom while watching TRAFFIC and OUT OF SIGHT.
Yeah, I have a ton of respect for Soderbergh, even if I don't totally love all of his movies. He gets it, as goes his frequent collaborator Clooney. George was smart enough early on to cash in on his fame with Batman so that he could then have f you money and make whatever the hell he wanted. He's hardly let us down, making smart, thoughtful, polical, funny films and keeping us guessing. Soderbergh's travelled the same path.
I didn't love The Informant, mostly I think because the (otehrwise great) score undersold Whitacre, painting him as an oafish cartoon rather than a real person with serious issues. Felt disrepectful to him and his family.
"An odd extortion situation lands in the lap of mark Whitacre (Matt Damon)"
Was that lowercase "mark" a typo or a genius bit of wordplay? I'll give you credit either way. 😉
A LAMBscore adopter!!! Woo! It hasn't been a successful campaign thus far, but I thank you for hopping on the train.
@ Fletch… Nope, the lower case M was a typo. I'm a pretty colour, but I'm not that sharp of a crayon.
As for the music, I thought it suited the character. He struck me as the sort of person who could hum such ditties while walking through a hurricane. The tunes seemed to whimsically echo his tendency to zone out mid-conversation and start thinking about designer ties on sale.
As for stars like Soderbergh and Clooney, I'm alright with letting them branch out and try different things. Beats the heck out of making movies for the lowest common denomenator (which tend to keep the high paycheques coming in!).
Thanks for noting the LAMBscore – it's on my review of FAME too.