The Informant!

What is it with Matt Damon and his overwhelming desire to wear all sorts of makeup, goofy noses and funny glasses? According to legend and rumor (all lawyers should note the RUMOR and LEGEND part of the statement), he was so intent on wearing a funny nose during the making of The Brothers Grimm, the Weinstein Company had to have a rep on the set to make sure he didn't slip it on during filming. Then, in Ocean's 13, supposedly (another tip of the hat to the lawyers), he wears that funny nose during those scenes with Ellen Barkin as a funny reference to the Brothers Grimm situation. Now, Matt's wearing a wig, glasses and a mustache in this movie. Enough already! I believe you can act.

Somewhat based on the true story, Damon stars as Mark Whitacre - the head of Archer Daniels Midland's BioProducts division in the early 90's. He's a smart guy with a bright future ahead of him (he might run the company some day), but Mark is worried. The development of a major product is going badly, and, he claims sabotage and blackmail might be involved. As the FBI moves in to investigate, Mark tells the feds he knows ADM is involved in illegal price fixing across the globe, and he wants to turn informant to help bring down the bad guys.

Will Mark get the evidence needed to prove his claims?

Will he blow it with his bumbling and overzealousness?

What's motivating him?

If you are considering a trip to the local Cineplex to see The Informant! don't think you need to have a Masters degree in business from Wharton or a law degree from Harvard to understand the action and scheming. Director Steven Soderbergh and writer Scott Burns (based on the book by Kurt Eichenwald) focus the movie on Whitacre's behavior, personality, and his slide into what must be assumed to be mental incompetence, which makes The Informant! into a tour de force for Damon (or tour de farce if you find it to be a funny movie), who delivers what we need to pay attention.

The audience is given enough information about the price fixing scheme, possible espionage and more to understand the gravity of the misdeeds being committed, but mostly we are entertained by Damon's portrayal of Whitacre. Along with an overall farcical tone that feels just perfect to portray these corporate shenanigans, Soderbergh and his editor Stephen Mirrione wonderfully insert a running voiceover that gives the audience access to Whitacre's innermost thoughts. Some are hilarious. Some shed light on his true motivations. All of it makes us wonder what he will do and say next.

Then, Damon makes the character memorable with his zeal and overall doofy behavior. We get a sense of the thrills he feels while working undercover, and the pressure bearing down on him as he plays too many angles and starts to be overwhelmed by the truth he is facing. Yet, The Informant! takes a darker and more depressing turn towards the end. Damon does a good job with this change in tone, but I think Soderbergh shouldn't have taken it in this direction. The rest of the movie is such a rollicking good time, the sad turn towards the end takes something away from our enjoyment.

The Informant! is rated R for language.