Steven Soderbergh's dark comedy The Informant! is one of those movies that has all the hallmarks of being a big blockbuster, but somehow failed to engage with audiences on the level it should have. Matt Damon was at the height of his late 2000's fame, having just finished doing the Bourne movies, but this character driven flick couldn't be more different from those movies.
Mark Whitacre (Damon) is a executive for the food processing corporation Archer Daniels Midland who is unhappy about a price fixing scheme that his employer and their competition are engaged in. The FBI is contacted after a blackmail attempt is made by a Japanese competitor and Mark reveals his true intention of being a whistleblower to Special Agent Brian Shepard (Scott Bakula). Mark soon embarks on the task of making a series of audio tapes that detail the nature of the price fixing scandal. But once the investigation is finished, it is revealed that Mark had also been embezzling ADM of millions of dollars and the numbers rise and rise as he struggles to keep up with the lies he has been telling.
The most enjoyable part of this movie is watching the character of Mark get more and more flustered as he goes from one lie to another. He thinks that he has everything in control and in his narration, he often alludes to the fact that he thinks he is the hero in some spy thriller. His stream of consciousness narration reveals that inside his head are just the most bizarre and abstract thoughts and we see that he has them during either important business meetings or meetings with the FBI. The character is made all the more effective from Damon's superb performance. This is mainly due to his preference for serious roles (I don't consider The Martian a comedy, but his roles in Kevin Smith's movies are pretty funny), but here he is absolutely silly and that's made more evident by the fact that the other actors are playing their roles with the utmost seriousness.
The supporting cast is phenomenal as well. Scott Bakula, known for his science-fiction TV outings more than anything, plays one of the most sympathetic law enforcement officials I have ever seen. You just feel for the guy as you see how betrayed he becomes after hearing about his actions. Melanie Lynksy is fantastic at playing Mark's strong yet long suffering wife. The rest of the cast is padded out by comedians playing the straight role. These include Joel McHale, Patton Oswalt, Paul F. Tomkins, Tony Hale, Andrew Daly and Scott Adsit.
Legendary composer Marvin Hamlisch lends his talents to make the score for this movie and it's safe to say it's a doozy. He manages to place long, dramatic, thoughtful pieces in succession with short choppy pieces that bounce along. There is also a track that complements an FBI raid in such a way that you think wouldn't go well with the theme of the scene, but he manages to pull it off. In a way though the soundtrack really represents the character of Mark quite well because it is just as all over the place as he is.
The Informant! is a fantastic character study about a guy who believes his own lies. And after watching it, you believe that fat Matt Damon is the only actor who could pull off such a delusional character. A must watch for people who see Damon as that good-looking guy who everything goes well for.
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