The Informant

*****
Five Stars Out of Five

So, I'm giving out my first five star review. I actually struggled with the decision to award this flick five stars, simply because it isn't the best movie I've seen this year (that title still belongs to "Inglourious Basterds" which I would give five stars now, after a second viewing - Tarantino works like that). It is one of the best movies I have seen in a long time, though, and it really is one of the best of it's kind ever made. It's a "stranger than fiction" flick, and it's fucking hysterical, maddening, upsetting, pathetic, entertaining, and... true.

The movie opens by stating that everything that follows is indeed true, though certain names were changed in order to protect certain identities. The time is 1992, and we are quickly introduced to Mark Whitacre (Matt Damon's best performance EVER), who is talking to his son about corn, and how corn is in pretty much everything. Mark works for ADM, which is essentially one of the biggest food distributors on the planet. They're ranked 44 on the Fortune 500, and they want to stay there by any means necessary. In order to remain in that position, they have to deal with a lysine problem which is at that moment threatening to slightly derail their status as a corporate powerhouse. Lucky for them, Mark has been notified by one of their Japanese "rivals" that he knows what the problem is, and can solve it for them for $7 million. The feds are brought in to deal with the corporate tampering, and all hell pretty much breaks loose.

Mark independently goes to the feds, mainly Special Agent Brian Shepard (Scott Bakula) and his partner Bob (Joel McHale), to inform them that ADM and their fellow businesses are involved in a worldwide price-fixing scandal that is allowing them all to stay on top of the food pyramid. Mark's motives for going to the feds is never really made quite clear, and as the movie unfolds, the audience begins to question why the hell this guy would ever do this in the first place, especially as Mark hasn't exactly been a law abiding citizen himself. Does he go to the feds because he wants to stop these illegal practices? Is it because he wants to run the company himself? Or is it simply because he wants to play "spy" for a while?

For fear of spoilers, I will end the synpopsis there, but know that what I've described is really only the tip of the iceberg. What follows is confusing, yet by the time the credits role, all is made pretty well clear.

Matt Damon's performance as Mark Whitacre is really something special. It's not just the fact that he gained 40 pounds of fat for the role, it really is his ability to become this character. Damon is not a particularly handsome man to begin with, but he's actually ugly as Mark Whitacre. He's got a porn-stache that would make many men blush and a hair-piece that looks like a dead rat. The really amazing thing is that Damon's voice is different. He narrates the film, and his loose confidence and wonderment in every irreverant detail of the world pushes the film further and further into whimsical ridiculousness.

Mark clearly has some psychological issues and he has an awkward sense of self-importance. He feels like he should be running ADM, and while he is a deeply intelligent individual, you can tell he really doesn't understand the way the world works, or how he should behave around others. He's kind of off in his own little world much of the time; when he should be worried about the feds on his ass, he's questioning himself as to why anyone would ever name their daughter after the capital of Saskatchewan (that name being Regina). When he should be focusing on bringing down the pricks who run the company, he's wondering why polar bears cover their noses before they strike on their prey - mainly, how do they know their noses are black? There are numerous occasions where Mark retreats into his own irreverant thoughts instead of focusing on the task at hand, and these are often the funniest moments in the film. Mark also has problems with being entirely forthcoming with the truth, even when it is most important to be truthful to those who can help him - the feds, and his lawyers. There is an incredibly funny scene in which Mark and his lawyers are going to talk to the Disrict of Justice, and as they're boarding the elevator, Mark utters, "I know I haven't been completely honest with you guys, but I'm going to set it all straight in there." Even though he's a disturbed individual, Mark remains a sympathetic character simply because you feel sorry for him. He's an idiot, and maybe even slightly sociopathic, but you get the idea that he just doesn't know any better. The entire movie hinges on Damon's ability to be sympathetic on any level whatsoever, and that's why the movie is such a success - Damon does indeed become sympathetic.

The movie moves along at a brisk pace, never meandering or focusing on one thing for too long. Steven Soderbergh is a confident filmmaker - confident in his directing, his cast, and more importantly in his audience to follow along - and it pays dividends here. There are several moments in the film where Soderbergh could have paused for a minute or five to go into some unneccesary exposition as to why something is happening. The assumption that his audience is smart is a great one; in lesser hands, the film could have easily been two plus hours long. Instead, Soderbergh keeps the narrative moving and lets the character's actions and words organically move the story forward.

So, I've been pretty complimentary here, huh? Sure, I'm praising the hell out of this movie, but just why does it deserve a five star review? Well, it's simple - it's entirely perfect as it is. It's not often that I watch a movie and think to myself, 'There's nothing I would change here. It's perfect as it is.' That's how I feel about "The Informant." As Goldilocks would say, "This one is just right!"

Seriously, go see this movie. It's fucking awesome. While it is first and foremost a character study of an interesting man, it also addresses corporate tinkering for billion-dollar businesses to make even more money, it sheds light on the ineptness of the law, it gives us glimpses of the assholes in charge of it all, and while it's doing all of this, it makes us laugh. There is no way in hell somebody could have sat down and just thought something as weird as this up, it's just too out there to work as fiction. Only in the real world that we live in could something as twisted as this happen. Please go support this movie. It's really good, and I cannot wait to see it again.