The Informant (C- or 1.5/4 stars)
Steven Soderbergh is an odd one to figure out. I have flat-out LOVED some of his films. Others of his bored me to tears. Unfortunately, in this instance, his 'The Informant!' is of the latter consensus. On to the movie. The year is 1993. Mark Whitacre (a heavier, mustached Matt Damon) a fidgety biochemist is working as vice-president for Illinois' Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) food corporation. When he becomes apprehensive about an illegal price-fixing scheme, Mark gets a hold of the FBI & reveals his fears to Special Agents Brian Shepard & Bob Herndon (Scott Bakula, Joel McHale - completely miscast).
Wanting Mark to be a whistleblower - to expose his company's conspiracy - they rig Mark a wire, make him carry a hidden tape recorder in his briefcase, & then get him to make over 200 tapes of conversations to use as concrete evidence. As an informant (a spy), however, Mark begins to take his newfound duties quite seriously; thinking he's a true secret agent ... a true hero. That said, questions abound as Mark's story to the FBI keeps on a changin'. Lies pile up. So ... just what does Mark gain by doing all of this? What's up with him? Whose side is he on? Is he pressured into doing this, or is he savoring it? Is he as virtuous in his intentions as he appears? It's a bit of a mystery, really. Could Mark's motives be more suspect than the actual circumstances surrounding ADM's unlawful activities?
Gosh. I just really dislike these types of movies. You know, that kind of whimsical, kitschy, deception-in-the-corporate-world dramedy that seems - to me - to only appeal to people in the vein of what the film's about. I just didn't like ANYTHING about it. It's very tongue-in-cheek. The characters have no redeeming quality. The actors (& those behind the cameras) seem to be having a swell time while I writhed in agony in my seat (reminiscent of the self-congratulatory way that Ocean's 12 played out). Marvin Hamlisch's 70's-styled musical score irritated me to no end. The pace of the film vacillates from exhausting & breakneck to dull & sluggish ... and back again. And I didn't care enough about what was going on from second to second to second to follow the plot.
The story is convoluted, self-aware, & boring -- NOT a good combination. My mind started to wander early on. Another aspect of the film that annoyed me was the pretentious, faux-groovy, orange-lit cinematography that screams 'look ... I'm trying to recapture a bygone era'. You know, 17 years ago {eye roll}. Again, I'm not saying that crowds won't get 'The Informant!'. I'm sure there are those who'll appreciate it. I'm giving this film a C- rating. It's decently acted. There's a level of quality filmmaking that is apparent. I just couldn't care less. This type of film bores me ordinarily ... and it was boring on top of that.
Wanting Mark to be a whistleblower - to expose his company's conspiracy - they rig Mark a wire, make him carry a hidden tape recorder in his briefcase, & then get him to make over 200 tapes of conversations to use as concrete evidence. As an informant (a spy), however, Mark begins to take his newfound duties quite seriously; thinking he's a true secret agent ... a true hero. That said, questions abound as Mark's story to the FBI keeps on a changin'. Lies pile up. So ... just what does Mark gain by doing all of this? What's up with him? Whose side is he on? Is he pressured into doing this, or is he savoring it? Is he as virtuous in his intentions as he appears? It's a bit of a mystery, really. Could Mark's motives be more suspect than the actual circumstances surrounding ADM's unlawful activities?
Gosh. I just really dislike these types of movies. You know, that kind of whimsical, kitschy, deception-in-the-corporate-world dramedy that seems - to me - to only appeal to people in the vein of what the film's about. I just didn't like ANYTHING about it. It's very tongue-in-cheek. The characters have no redeeming quality. The actors (& those behind the cameras) seem to be having a swell time while I writhed in agony in my seat (reminiscent of the self-congratulatory way that Ocean's 12 played out). Marvin Hamlisch's 70's-styled musical score irritated me to no end. The pace of the film vacillates from exhausting & breakneck to dull & sluggish ... and back again. And I didn't care enough about what was going on from second to second to second to follow the plot.
The story is convoluted, self-aware, & boring -- NOT a good combination. My mind started to wander early on. Another aspect of the film that annoyed me was the pretentious, faux-groovy, orange-lit cinematography that screams 'look ... I'm trying to recapture a bygone era'. You know, 17 years ago {eye roll}. Again, I'm not saying that crowds won't get 'The Informant!'. I'm sure there are those who'll appreciate it. I'm giving this film a C- rating. It's decently acted. There's a level of quality filmmaking that is apparent. I just couldn't care less. This type of film bores me ordinarily ... and it was boring on top of that.