Review of The Informant! (2009) by Rhys G — 09 Sep 2010

If we'd known why Mark Whitacre went to such trouble to spy on his corporate bosses and bring down his company's price-fixing agenda, The Informant! would have been a lot less interesting, and I don't think that this is a movie that will improve with multiple viewings.

While it's a caper film, it's not structured like one. The crimes of Archer Daniels Midland are only on paper and difficult to comprehend. We see what Whitacre does in the meantime and try to connect his increasingly inconsistent actions with his overall goal, and director Soderbergh's sleight-of-hand allows the film's twist to sneak up on the audience.

It's well done. Matt Damon is onscreen for virtually the entire movie, and he has to portray a character who is both brilliant and naive, likeable and manipulative. As a result, you end up with a character who's more interesting then the investigation of which he's part.