Seen on: September 19, 2009

The players: Director: Steven Soderbergh, Writer: Scott Z. Burns, Cast: Matt Damon, Scott Bakula, Joel McHale, Melanie Lynskey, Thomas F. Wilson

Facts of interest: "The Informant!" is based on the book by Kurt Eichenwald.

The plot: The film follows the misadventures of a white-collar guy who becomes an informant by helping the FBI expose his company's price-fixing conspiracy.

Our thoughts: Steven Soderbergh’s new movie “The Informant!” may not exactly be what you expect, and that’s certainly one of the reasons the film stands out and works on so many levels. This is an awkward little comedy inspired by a true story, and as far as I’m concerned, it’s one heck of an entertaining ride.

Before I get to anything else, let me just say that Matt Damon totally dominates this film. Backed by a strong supporting cast, Damon’s brilliant performance in the lead role is what makes “The Informant!” so enjoyable. He brings all the humor from Scott Z. Burns’ clever script to life, and watching him do his thing here is downright fascinating.

Damon jumps into the skin of Mark Whitacre, who works for agri-industry giant Archer Daniels Midland and seriously considers climbing the corporate ladder. To accomplish this goal, however, Whitacre develops quite an unconventional strategy: he decides to turn whistleblower by helping the FBI expose his company’s price-fixing conspiracy.

Whitacre seriously thinks he will receive a promotion by helping the Feds bring down the company he works for, and his irrational thinking is just one of many reasons that made it so easy for me to be interested in what the heck Damon’s character is up to in this movie. His eccentricity is quite addictive.

As the story progresses and Whitacre delivers a bunch of decent laughs acting like a wannabe James Bond, it quickly becomes obvious enough that this is a guy no one can really trust. Herein clearly lies the heart of the film’s dry humor, which helps trigger a whole series of funny twists that ensure “The Informant!” is never a boring experience.

Damon’s character does create a bit confusion here and there, but I always enjoy watching an entertaining movie that requires me to remain in the moment and fully focus on what is going on over on the big screen. “The Informant!” does exactly that, and while it’s definitely not a very sophisticated movie in terms of plot, it sure delivers the goods in terms of pace.

Going back to Damon before I wrap this up, he simply looks hilarious. He put on a bunch of weight for this role, and it shows, even though it’s not distracting. As someone who’s worked with Soderbergh before, he dominates every scene and will have many cinemagoers talk about this performance for quite a while.

Freaky quote: "Mark Whitacre, secret agent 0014. Because I'm twice as smart as 007." – Matt Damon

The final word: “The Informant!” is a semi-mainstream Soderbergh film, and loyal fans of his know what that means. The film doesn’t play in the same league as his “Ocean’s Eleven” films, and its awkwardness may be a bit off-putting to some. My best advice: don’t take this all too seriously and enjoy the hilarity of Damon’s eccentric character; just roll with it, and you will be pleasantly surprised.

Article by Franck Tabouring