Film: The Informant!
Cast includes: Matt Damon (The Bourne Identity), Scott Bakula (American Beauty), Melanie Lynskey (Up in the Air)
Direction: Steven Soderbergh (Ocean’s Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen)
Genre: Drama/Comedy/Espionage Thriller, based on actual events (2009)
In brief: “You know that orange juice you have every morning… know what’s in that? And the maple syrup… what makes it taste so good? Corn,” he tells us. And Mark Whitacre ought to know. In 1992 he works at ADM, the corn capital of the world. Mark’s specialty is lysine, made from corn dextrose. But there’s a problem with ADM’s lysine production. A virus is gumming up the works, and production is way down. Management doesn’t want to hear about the virus. They just want it fixed.
When Mark tells them about a call he’s gotten from Nakawara, it all starts to make sense… industrial espionage. And $10mil in extortion will fix everything. While Mark negotiates with Nakawara, management calls in the FBI. “They just have a few questions. It’s no big deal.” But it is a big deal to Mark, and we soon learn why. When the FBI taps Mark’s home phone, they’ll soon uncover a crime way bigger than industrial espionage… international price fixing. Mark comes clean with Agent Shepherd in an attempt to win immunity. This is big… really big. “Everyone in this country is a victim of a corporate crime by the time they’ve finished breakfast,” Mark tells Agent Shepherd, his new best friend. Mark tells the FBI a lot of things. Mark is so talkative, they wonder what his motives are. “I just want to do the right thing,” Mark assures them. Is he willing to wear a wire? “Absolutely.”
This is an espionage thriller like no other. Mark tells us he’s “0014… twice as smart as 007.” Mark’s no dummy. But he’s no 007, either. It’s the talking that’s the problem. It’s not just the FBI investigation that’s about to come off the rails, it’s everything… absolutely everything. But that said, the actual investigation of the lysine price-fixing conspiracy resulted in record-setting antitrust fines in 1996. But it was a mixed victory. And the “official story” has never been definitely established. Based on The Informant by Kurt Eichenwald, the film takes some creative license. But it hardly matters… unraveling the truth may never be possible. The film hinges on the portrayal of Whitacre, and Matt Damon is more amazing as Mark Whitacre than he is as Jason Bourne.
3 popped kernels
A bizarre dark comedy of an espionage thriller; Matt Damon is perfect
Popcorn Profile
Primary Audience: Grown-ups
Gender Appeal: Any audience
Distribution: Mainstream limited release
Mood: Neither upbeat nor somber
Tempo: Cruses comfortably
Visual Style: Unvarnished realism
Character Development: Engaging
Language: True to life
Social Significance: Informative
