The Movie “The Informant!” produced by Steven Soderbergh is a delectable tapestry woven around the characters – who are dexterously engrossed in employing duplicitous techniques with their entire ability to get away and make the viewers believe in, what they say.
That isn’t an amusing thing, that someone knows well that he has lied to many people, yet the interesting thing is that, how he get away by telling white lies and befooling others, and people start to believe the liar.
This sort of ability to get away from the people, by using lying tactics means the guy is highly witty, although the truth will reveal, at a later date.
The newest movie of Stephen Soderbergh, “The Informant!” is full of lies yet not in a weird manner, thus it is a movie about the productivity of telling lies, it can prove habitual and that can be exploited. No doubt, it is a finer subject yet documented with the dexterity Soderbergh has used in the “Ocean’s” film, “The Informant!” is entirely hilarious.
The interesting aspect in this documentary is, pinpointing lies is not a great fun, yet someone is telling lie boldly in front of you is entirely funnier, and someone is telling lies, and you know he is telling lies and still giving the gesture of affirmation is absolutely funniest.
To release a title card which indicates that the film is well grounded on practical episodes, scenes, and characters and so on, thus the conclusion is the movie truly attracts the attention of viewers towards itself.
Opening with a title card which informs us that the following story is based on real people, events, locations, etc…”So there,” the movie begins with Matt Damon as Mark Whitacre, a high-level executive for ADM, a global food conglomerate based in Decatur, Illinois. From the opening credits where he tells us about the uses of corn far beyond the simple starch we know and love, Mark has all kinds of fun facts, comments, and observations he would like us to know. The film takes place in 1992 but Mark has Twitter in his brain and he doesn’t have a 140-character limit. There’s a lot of funny plot-based events in “The Informant!” but you’ll walk away with Mark’s mind-tweets echoing through your brain.
Whitacre, a harmless and genial guy, decides to turn whistleblower on ADM when he learns of their price-fixing. Why? Because he’s just a simple, honest man who wants to do the right thing. That’s what the FBI believes and that’s what we believe because, by golly, look at him! He’s got two adopted kids because he was adopted after his parents were killed in an auto-mobile accident when he was six (or is it three? I don’t remember); he’s got a loving wife, he sends out Christmas cards, and how could a man who spends his free time musing about trivia concerning the hunting habits of polar bears be an untrustworthy guy? No, this is a good guy and he’s doing the right thing.
There’s no arguing with that reasoning when you see Whitacre bumble his way through his undercover work as he taps on recording devices and looks straight into surveillance cameras hidden inside desk lamps. His spy skills would make Maxwell Smart blush except… Whitacre’s really, really good at lying. He knows how to handle people and it’s not limited to just the characters you’re watching.
Soderbergh plays the film perfectly with a 70s vibe despite the 90s setting, punctuated by a jaunty score from Marvin Hamlisch. The eras work together well because while the movie has a 70s look, Whitacre happily compares his life to something out of a Michael Crichton or John Grisham novel, and it doesn’t feel like a “Hey, we’re in the 90s!”-moment, but a funny and perfect way to describe Whitacre’s restrained-intellect and kiddie-pool depth while making him even more likable. Being likable is one of the most important things someone can be.
Matt Damon has “likable” down to a science. After he dies, scientists will study him and see if they can isolate the “likable” gene and then sell it to douchebags, probably in the form of an energy drink. But let’s get past “Matt Damon Thunderfluid ” and talk about why his performance is better than just his natural charisma or the fact that he put on 20-30 pounds for the role*. Yes, make-up and physical alterations are required to make someone as good-looking as Damon look like a desk drone living in Decatur, Illionis. But performance matters and especially for this role, where so much of Mark’s character comes through his odd internal memos, that completely internalizing the character is essential and as he usually does, Damon makes it look easy. I was looking through his filmography and he hasn’t had given a bad performance in a leading role in a major motion picture since 2000**. Few of his contemporaries have his versatility and while he’s got an Oscar for screenwriting, he’s long overdue to have one for acting.
Some folks may turn on “The Informant!” when it makes a strong twist in its third act but the way it transformed makes it more than just the light treat like the “Ocean’s” movies. It not only has a strong idea at its core but that idea sneaks up on you until you’re wondering why you didn’t see it all along. I know I walked out of “The Informant!” wondering if anything anyone ever told me was true so I want to make the following statement as clearly and directly as I can:
You should go see “The Informant!” It’s delightful, witty, thoughtful, and a great time at the movies. So there.
Rating —– A minus
*A feat I don’t find impressive. People put on that kind of weight all the time. We don’t congratulate them on it.
**That’s not to say that he’s been awful in supporting roles or in smaller movies. But everything that he’s been in that I’ve seen starting in 2001, he’s been amazing.