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Steven Soderbergh
and Matt Damon team
up together for
another movie. This
time it’s
The Informant!,
a story based on the
true story of Mark
Whitacre, the
highest-ranking
corporate
whistleblower in
U.S. history.
The movie tells two
stories in two
different sections
with seamless
transition. Just
like the real story
behind this movie,
it’s hard to tell if
Whitacre is a good
guy or a bad guy and
it’s hard to tell
who or what he’s
working for. Whether
he’s working to do
the right thing,
whether he’s working
for himself, whether
he’s working for the
good of his company…
his intentions
aren’t clear.
Mark Whitacre’s
portrayed as the
good guy in the
beginning of the
movie. He’s a bit
awkward and
apparently he’s
pretty stupid
socially. But he’s
not a bad guy. He
contacts the FBI to
be an Informant and
tells them about the
company he works
for, ADM and their
international price
fixing scandal. He
becomes an Informant
for the FBI and he
makes over two and a
half years of audio
tapes for evidence
purposes in the
FBI’s case against
the company. But
then something
happens… Mark’s
troubles catch up to
him. He’d been doing
some seedy things to
protect himself in
the aftermath of the
investigation. Those
things catch up to
Mark and he’s no
longer a hero, he
turns into the
villain.
If you know a little
bit about Whitacre
and the ADM case
then you’re going to
like this movie
more. It’s not the
true story but it’s
based on the story
and maybe some of
the details were
changed but the
important parts of
the story weren’t.
Whitacre really sued
the FBI and Brian
Shepard after things
went wrong. He had
some serious
psychological
problems stemming
from the
investigation that
caused him to try
and take his own
life twice. His wife
never left him and
kept their family
together and running
while he was in
jail. A lot of
people went to
prison because of
the evidence Mark
provided the FBI but
Mark Whitacre went
to jail longer than
them. The movie
doesn’t follow the
true story exactly
but it follows it
pretty closely.
Matt Damon was
brilliant as
Whitacre. He had to
put on a bunch of
weight for the role
so his physical
appearance is not
the Matt Damon
you’re used to
seeing. That adds
even more to the
story. Damon’s dry
delivery as Whitacre
makes this movie run
smoothly even in its
more boring moments.
If there’s one
problem with this
movie it’s the flow
of things towards
the end of the first
half. The story
becomes too slow and
too detailed. It
works, but just
barely. It’s not
until Whitacre’s
actions get exposed
that the story fires
up again.
The Informant!
is an interesting
film from Soderbergh.
It’s dark, smart,
stylish, and funny.
Damon does an
exceptional job as
usual and
The Informant!
is one of the better
comedies of recent
memory. There are
very few movies that
have the potential
to be funny the 20th
time you watch them,
and due to its sense
of humor
The Informant!
can do that.
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