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THE INFORMANT! |
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I freely admit I am not a Matt Damon fan. I will not automatically overlook
performance flaws like I might with Jack Nicholson, Tom Hanks, Robert DeNiro or Michelle Pfiefer Matt Damon must earn my praise every time until I say otherwise. For my money
he has had two very good performances: "The Talented Mr Ripley" and "The Departed". That's it. The rest was fluff including his
roles in "Saving Private Ryan" and "Syriana". That said, his latest film "The Informant!" is wonderful and it is wonderful
because of his performance. |
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The film focuses on the 1990s price fixing scandal involving ADM (Archer Daniels Midland.
ADM used to be known as, "The supermarket to the world," thanks to its ads on political talk shows. But after an FBI investigation in the 1990s, ADM pleaded guilty to fixing international prices on citric acid and lysine, paid a $100 million fine, and saw three of its top executives convicted and sent to prison. But the PR machine and price-fixing schemes fell apart thanks to Mark Whitacre (Damon), president of the ADM Bioproducts division. And although this may sound
like a mundane story, Damon makes it entertaining and sometimes downright hilarious. When Whitacre blamed problems with the company's new lysine plant on industrial sabotage - inventing Japanese extortion threats in the process -
the FBI was called in, and then just as quickly kept at bay for fear the group would uncover instances of price-fixing. Scott Bakula as FBI agent Brian Shepard and Joel McHale as Agent Bob Herndon convince Whitacre to
wear a wire to incriminate the executives involved. All the while Whitacre seeks government guarantees that he'll maintain his position and
financial security with ADM. |
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But what the FBI and ADM fail to realize is that Whitacre is a compulsive liar. Moreover,he is a very
well educated compulsive liar. His stories change at the drop of a hat. He always seems to leave something out! Again, this may not sound like much of a story but Damon's portrayal is terrific. Award consideration terrific! His off beat narrated asides and observations
are classic! Cast with Melanie Lynskey as his loving and devoted wife Ginger, Damon plays the cunning dork as well as Peter Lorre might have. Steve Soderbergh directed and keeps the pace lively. There are no blank moments or wasted story. Much like
"Michael Clayton", "The Informant!" makes corporate espionage fun. "The Informant!" won't make you look twice at high fructose corn syrup - as you might had Michael Moore gotten hold of the script. But it
will answer your doubts about corporate leadership - yeah, they are greedy nutcases! --GEOFFREY BURTON
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