Take The Money And Squeal
Written: Oct 24 '09 (Updated Oct 24 '09)
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Product Rating:
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| Bang For The Buck |
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Pros: Damon, Bakula, McHale, story, score
Cons: The movie drags toward the end and gets a little frustrating
The Bottom Line: This is how Mark Whitacre squeals like a pig!
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| pmills1210's Full Review: The Informant |
Mark Whitacre wanted to be a whistle blower and a reaper of the rewards from his effort to bring attention to price fixing in his industry. In 1992, he was a chemist in a management position at Archer Daniels Midland, a food processing plant in Decatur, Illinois. In his work, he became aware of the practice of worldwide price fixing. At the urging of his wife, Mark feels compelled to tell what he knows to the FBI. That leads to an investigation of ADM, and of Whitacre himself. The Whitacre saga is the subject of the movie "The Informant!"
Matt Damon stars as Whitacre, the main ADM person who helps the authorities. He agrees to wear a wire, while FBI agents Brian Shepard (Scott Bakula) and Bob Herndon (Joel McHale) monitor his business and his home. The greater the investigation grows, the more Mark acts oddly. He acts naively about what is going to happen to him at the company. He tells the media he's a part of an investigation against his company. He feels compelled to tell Brian and Bob everything when he is asked to discretely record his business dealings. Those dealings involve others all over the world in the same line of work as Mark. As charges are levied against ADM, ADM, who has known that Mark has been a cooperating witness, asks that Whitacre be investigated. The FBI learns that Mark has been a part of the problem, receiving millions in price fixing payments.
It soon becomes clear that Mark will also be prosecuted. He seemingly fails to grasp that no reward is coming his way, in spite of the big part he has played in exposing the wrongdoing. ADM counsel wants to help, but they eventually advise him to seek an attorney for himself. Mark gets one lawyer, and then another, seeking the one who will get him the proverbial "Get Out Of Jail Free" card. In the end, the one person who stands by him as the process unfolds is his wife, Ginger (Melanie Lynskey), no matter how great the scrutiny becomes.
"The Informant!" which is based on the non-fiction work by Kurt Eichenwald, is a fine examination of corporate greed, and one man who feels he entitled to a better life as a result. Director Steven Soderbergh returns to a territory that he has brought to the screen in the past in one of his best-known films. In the 2000 feature "Erin Brockovich," Soderbergh presented the story of a woman's crusade against a corporate entity that caused harm to many people. Unlike Erin Brockovich, Mark Whitacre was a corporate insider, looking to see what cooperation held financially for him. While it becomes clear that Whitacre's behavior is more than just eccentricity, Soderbergh just keeps portraying Whitacre as a big goofball. Once the prosecution phase begins, he belabors the audience with its details. The director could have delivered the pertinent details of the movie's conclusion more quickly. It reminded me of the ending of "Changeling," where Clint Eastwood used a lot of film time to say very little. Scott Z. Burns, who also adapted "The Bourne Ultimatum" to the screen, does a good job with a story filled with quirks. Marvin Hamlisch also adds a nice touch with his cheery score, which is a bit reminiscent of one of his most familiar film scores, "The Sting."
Damon turns in a fine performance as Whitacre, a man who never stops looking to broker a favorable outcome for himself. For a good part of the film, he deludes himself into believing that he will get a better position within ADM. Yet, he is trying to be a better provider and his wife and young family. I like the one scene where Mark explains to his son how important corn is to putting food on the family table. He's a little more enthusiastic than normal as he does this. A part of Mark never stops believing that he will persevere, even as the punishment phase of the ADM trials show Mark's predicament compared to others at ADM. Bakula and McHale turn in quietly effectively performances as the FBI agents who try very hard to sympathize with their informant, but find he's a more difficult personality than they expected. Besides McHale, who's on TV in "Community" and "The Soup," Soderbergh employs a number of comedians in straight roles. For example, Tony Hale, whose biggest comic claim is "Arrested Development," turns in a good performance as James Epstein, the lawyer Whitacre hires, and who advises Mark to take a plea bargain. Factory manager Mick Andreas is played by standup comic Tom Papa, and his factory owner father, Dwayne, is played by Tom Smothers. Tom's brother, Dick, appears as a judge. Other comics with small straight roles include Andrew Daly, Patton Oswalt, and Scott Adsit.
"The Informant!" tells the intriguing tale of a man who does right, but has ulterior motives. It also shows his downfall, for which he is primarily responsible. Soderbergh delivers the details, but doesn't know when to stop spelling out so many of them. In this tale, Mark Whitacre is both a hero and a villain. He was part of the solution and a part of the problem. One could say that Whitacre was not treated fairly by a justice system he assisted, but I think he had a good idea of what he was doing. The end of the film shows where he is in 2009 - and it's not in the place where most whistle blowers find themselves. "The Informant!" shows the roundabout path the life of Mark Whitacre has taken. It is both funny and infuriating, much like the man himself is portrayed onscreen.
Recommended:
Yes
Movie Mood: Serious Movie
Viewing Method: Other
Film Completeness: Looked complete to me.
Worst Part of this Film: Ending
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pmills1210
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Member: Pat Mills
Location: East Chicago, In.
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"Nothing in moderation." - Ernie Kovacs. Read and enjoy!
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