See that exclamation mark in the title? It’s the first clue that something’s a little off about what’s to come. Mind you, it’s not that big a clue, so as we follow biochemist Mark Whitacre (a chubbed-up and mustache-bearing Matt Damon) around through the dull early 1990 corridors of massive agri-business Archer Daniels Midland and eavesdrop in on his banal thoughts via a constant voice-over it’s hard to know exactly where things are heading.
Then when Whitacre suddenly bursts into his bosses’ office and explains that the problems they’ve been having with a big-budget process aren’t merely a chemical imbalance but industrial sabotage – sabotage that will go away if they come up with a multi-million dollar payday to the Japanese – well, clearly we’re watching a story of corporate intrigue, right? Just like the John Grisham and Michael Crichton novels Whitacre is always going on about.
His bosses call in the FBI, phones are tapped, and then for no good reason Whitacre blurts out that ADM is engaged in a massive and global case of price-fixing. Fortunately for the stunned FBI agents (Scott Bakula and Joel McHale), Whitacre offers to turn informant, and that’s where the fun really begins. Why is Whitacre helping the FBI so much? What’s in it for him? Why does the evidence again ADM seem so flimsy? And If Whitacre knows how much danger he’s in why is he telling his gardener he’s working for the FBI and calling himself “Agent 0014” (because he’s twice as smart as 007)?
By the time it starts to become clear that for Whitacre the truth is a lot more flexible than everyone else suspects, it’s too late: he’s dragged everyone into his world, and every time someone thinks they’ve nailed down the reality of what’s going on he yanks that particular “fact” out from under them too. Which is pretty much the process the viewer goes through as what starts out looking like another corporate thriller about a real-life whistleblower (ironically, the book this is based on tells the facts completely straight) turns out to be a complex and often hilarious portrait of a habitual liar.
Director Steven Soderbergh keeps the tone sunny at first, but gradually things turn darker as it becomes clear that for the relentlessly upbeat Whitacre it’s impossible to take a breath without telling a lie. Damon gives an excellent performance as a man who contains hidden depths without actually being all that deep and the supporting cast (largely made up of comedians, including Patton Oswalt, Paul F Tompkins and
Arrested Development’s Tony Hale) are great, but the real star here is composer Marvin Hamlisch’s over-the-top soundtrack. Veering wildly from sitcom tunes to James Bond parodies at the drop of a toupee, it’s yet another clue that despite the typical thriller elements that drive the plot here – wiretaps and payoffs abound – the heart of this sharply funny film is something much more quirky and strange.
The Informant! opens at cinemas on December 3.
You can view The Informant! movie trailer here on TheVine.