What Do The Critics Say

"Only one role is fleshed out, and that’s Damon’s. With walrus ‘tache and a dazzling mix of the naive and the Machiavellian, his is, despite the movie’s lack of flair, one of the year’s stand-out performances." Chris Roberts UNCUT MAGAZINE "Damon makes his character ridiculous in a very convincing way while never for a moment overplaying." Derek Malcolm THIS IS LONDON "Hilarious and intriguing. Matt Damon's convincing performance reveals the many layers of this true story." Brian Duff FILMINK "Matt Damon gives the best performance of his career so far." Philip French OBSERVER "Soderbergh gets the very best from a marvelous cast, but this is Damon's film." David Kaplan KAPLAN VS KAPLAN "It’s easy to forget that Damon is a talented character actor. The Informant! might be too feather-light to bring him the plaudits he deserves, but it’s to his credit that this is one of the most enjoyable films in months." Dan Stewart LITTLE WHITE LIES

"Director Stephen Soderbergh and its star Matt Damon have crafted a skittish caper movie, a pyrotechnical display of colourful lies that unravel to a giddy retro score." Wendy Ide TIMES "Damon gives the most fascinating and fearless performance of his career." Brian Tallerico MOVIE RETRIEVER "Hugely enjoyable, frequently hilarious and superbly directed." Matthew Turner VIEW LONDON "A smart movie about being dumb. Very funny and well-acted." Paul Chambers CNN "Visual and narrative punchlines strike flawlessly like the absurdist humor of a Bugs Bunny cartoon." Rubin Safaya CINEMALOGUE "Damon is rock solid as the pudgy, toupé-wearing informant, as is Lynskey as his loving wife." Marjorie Baumgarten AUSTIN CHRONICLE "Not only does Matt Damon channel schlepiness with a real-life fat suit, a bad mustache and ties that look like there were cut from Vegas carpets, but he's also a bumbling megalomaniac and ferocious fibber." Mike Ward RICHMOND.COM

The Inside Story "The Informant!" is a dark comedy about corporate espionage, multinational price fixing, wiretapping, embezzlement, FBI investigations and a high-level company whistleblower. What’s so funny about that? In the hands of director Steven Soderbergh ("Insomnia"), pretty much everything. The film follows the somewhat strange and unpredictable journey of Mark Whitacre from corporate golden boy to FBI informant in the years from 1992 to 1996. "The more I learned about the story, the more I responded to the material," Soderbergh (who also directed one of my favourite movies "The Limey") says. "But I knew there have been serious films done on similar subject matters by great filmmakers. I thought one way to do something distinctive was to play the irony of the situation. Everything fell into place once that decision was made." Matt Damon, who stars in the role of Mark Whitacre, observes: "It’s like peeling an onion. You start with a certain set of assumptions and then realize you can’t assume anything as the situation becomes utterly ridiculous. It’s a great story and a really incredible character." The plot of "The Informant!" was first told in-depth in a book by two time George Polk Award for excellence in journalist, Kurt Eichenwald, who also served as a producer on the movie. Screenwriter Scott Z Burns ("The Bourne Ultimatum") was introduced to the story when he heard an interview with Eichenwald on the radio. He remembers, "I was on my way to a brunch and I ended up driving around the restaurant for the entire hour. I went directly from there to buy the book and spent the rest of the day reading it." Burns recalls that when he and 2001 Oscar ® winner Soderbergh ("Traffic") first began talking about how to adapt the book: "Steven said he wanted to make it a comedy. At first I wasn’t sure what to make of that, but as we started working on the script, I realized that most of the things that happened were pretty outrageous." Burns would ultimately hit on the concept that became the key to finding the film’s overriding humour. According to dual Kinema Junpo Award winner Soderbergh, "It was Scott who came up with the idea of the voiceover. Once that happened, it was clear which direction the movie was going." "One of the amazing things Scott brought to the table was the idea of weaving in Mark Whitacre’s inner monologue. Little by little it reveals what’s going on beneath the surface with Mark, and what’s fun is how it doles out that information," Producer Gregory Jacobs ("Full Frontal") affirms. "It’s a unique perspective and I think it’s what makes this script so intriguing." "It was a great way to show the absurdity of the situation, the idea of an unreliable narrator: the most unreliable narrator because he’s someone who has a hard time distinguishing the truth," Producer Jennifer Fox, who worked with George Clooney on "Good Night, and Good Luck", "Syriana" and "Michael Clayton" adds. In fact, as Damon remarks, Whitacre’s narration is not only unreliable, it is also not necessarily related to the scene unfolding on the screen. "It’s more of a stream of consciousness, a kind of digressive thinking. He might be in the middle of a conversation with someone when something triggers this inner monologue that can spin off in any direction: ties, polar bears, frequent flier miles: whatever." Burns relates that in writing Whitacre’s voiceover, "a lot of it was just allowing my mind to wander. As a writer, it was fun for me to think of the sort of tangents someone in his position could go off on at any particular moment in the story. What came out of that generated a kind of comedy that Steven and Matt really responded to." Matt Damon was Steven Soderbergh’s first and only choice for the film's central role. "Matt has been involved from the beginning, even before there was a script," Jacobs confirms. "Steven always felt that he was perfect for this role and, really, Matt can do anything; action, comedy, drama." "Matt is incredibly charismatic, which was important for the role," Fox says. "Despite learning what his character has been doing and cringing at some of his decisions, you have to kind of love him." A biochemist as well as an astute businessman, Mark Whitacre was on the fast track at agricultural conglomerate Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), a company with a vested interest in virtually every aisle of the supermarket. His job puts him in a position to know, and play a part in, the inner workings of ADM, most of which was above board but some was; well, under the table. Perhaps it’s was crisis of conscience, perhaps something more, but Mark suddenly turned whistleblower, exposing to the FBI a multi-national price-fixing scheme regarding the price of a new food additive called lysine. "It’s all very scientific, but if you’re a stockholder, all that matters is that corn goes in one end and profit comes out the other." 1997 Oscar ® winner (Best Original SCreenplay "Good Will Hunting") and two time National Board of Review Award winner ("Good Will Hunting" 1997 & "The Departed" 2006) Damon descibes Whitacre as "a successful guy. A brilliant young executive on the rise at this huge company, which raises the question about why he does what he does. It could well be for altruistic purposes: maybe he really is conflicted about the illegal price fixing; but slowly you start to realize that something is a little 'off'. That’s one of the things that made him such a fascinating character to play." "Matt has an inherent believability, a 'nice young man' quality that I think is very difficult to fake," says Soderbergh. "That was crucial to the story because you have to continually believe what Mark is saying, particularly when he says, 'That’s it; I’ve told you everything.' Every time he says that, you need to believe him. Matt embodies a wonderful kind of boyish charm and optimism that allows him to pull that off. I also know he is fearless and would embrace every aspect of the character, no matter how we made him look. Whether it was his weight or his hair, I knew Matt would disappear into this character without hesitation." In fact, Damon would gain about 30 pounds (13.6kg) to play Whitacre. "His face is also rounder than mine so I had little things stuck in my gums to push my cheeks out. And I wore a fake moustache. Whitacre was also bald and wore a hairpiece, but the hairpiece was so good that no one knew he didn’t have hair. It’s actually a great metaphor for the character. It was right there in front of everybody and nobody ever figured it out." Whitacres wife Ginger is played by 1995 New Zealand Film and TV Award winner Melanie Lynskey ("Heavenly Creatures"). "I’m not sure how much Ginger actually knows; I think she got only pieces of information from Mark. Ginger loves her husband; she believes in him even in the times when he is a lot more sure than she is that everything will be okay. I think she is an amazing wife and a remarkable woman." "Melanie has a quality that makes you understand that Ginger is someone who is totally dedicated to her husband and her children. She has stuck in my mind since the first time I saw her in "Heavenly Creatures", and sixteen years later I am even more impressed by her. She is so watchable, so emotionally real." "I have always loved Steven’s movies, so I felt so lucky to be a part of this film," Lynskey (who plays Rose in "Two and a Half Men") says. "He was so much fun to work with, and Matt was amazing. He’s just the kindest person and a very generous actor." When the FBI has to send an agent to Whitacre's house, there is no question who will get the case: Agent Brian Shepard, who happens to be the only FBI agent in Decatur, Illinois. FBI Special Agent Brian Shepard is played by five time Q Award winner Scott Bakula. He acknowledges, "Brian is the only agent in town so when the investigation started, he was the guy. All of a sudden this giant case falls in his lap; it is the opportunity of a lifetime, but he has no way of knowing where it will ultimately lead. It’s complicated to begin with, never mind trying to decipher what is true and not becoming distracted by Mark’s behaviour, which isn’t necessarily lining up with what Shepard expected. When you add those elements, the whole thing becomes completely bizarre." "Scott was perfect for the role of Brian Shepard," Soderbergh stated. "His ability to portray someone who is completely sincere and earnest convinced me we had to have him. It was wonderful to watch him transform himself into this very straightforward, honest FBI agent for whom the world is black and white. He really understood what I was looking for and what the part needed." When the government learns the scope of Whitacre’s claims about ADM’s price fixing, they immediately assign another agent from the state capital office to work with Agent Shepard. Joel McHale ("Spider-Man 2" & "Lords of Dogtown") plays FBI Special Agent Bob Herndon. "It’s too big a case for the one guy to handle alone, so my character is brought in to help out. He stays a little more reserved than Shepard, who becomes really entrenched in the case and with Whitacre. Bob is also younger than Shepard and I’m way younger than Scott Bakula. I feel like I grew up watching him on 'Quantum Leap' and 'Enterprise', so it was great to work with him." Bakula takes that age difference factor in his stride, noting: "Joel is a character. He’s very funny and we had a lot of laughs. We’re complete opposites in our approach, as are our characters. I think it creates an interesting dynamic on screen." Soderbergh concurs with Bakula. "Joel had the perfect energy to counterbalance Scott because they need to be almost a comedy duo. Scott was the perfect straight man, while Joel’s energy was much edgier. They had great contrast." The casting of Joel McHale was part of a larger concept that Soderbergh had for the cast of "The Informant!" "When we began casting, I started thinking about stand-up comedians and how their energy is so unique," the director explained. "I asked our casting director, Carmen Cuba, to start trolling comedy clubs. I wanted people who were not necessarily widely known to the public, and I couldn’t be happier with the choices we made." Joining the cast of “The Informant!” are comedians Tom Papa, Tom Wilson, Rick Overton, Tony Hale, along with Patton Oswalt ("Ratatouille") and Paul F Tompkins ("Sham") who appear as FBI Agents Herbst and D’Angelo. Tony Hale plays Jim Epstein, Whitacre’s attorney who tries to help him cut a deal with the government. In something of a casting coup, the Smothers Brothers (comedy legends Tom and Dick Smothers) have cameo roles in the film. "It was amazing to have them on the set," says Jacobs. "I know their fellow comedians were in awe. I think we all were. But what’s great about the Smothers Brothers is that they are so down to earth." "What’s interesting is that Steven never told me, or anyone else, to play it for laughs," Wilson notes:. "He let us do our thing. And all of the comedians, including myself, came at our roles straight on." Paraphrasing Neil Simon, Wilson explained: "You play comedy exactly the way you play drama, except you play the comedy a little more seriously." The Verdict "Matt Damon gives an outstanding preformance in his latest bigscreener, "The Informant". Helmed by Oscar ® winner Steven Soderbergh ("Ocean's Eleven", "Ocean's Twelve" & "Ocean's Thirteen"), "The Informant" is a mixture of intrigue, deception, drama, revelation and comedy: comedy that often feels a little 'Monty Pythonesque'. The outlandish behaviour of Mark Whitacre (America's biggest corporate whistle-blower) and the revelations regarding his involvement in the FBI's operation aimed at gathering information about global scale price fixing by agri-industry giant Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), makes for a fascinating watch. While it's very humorous at times (and the pace of that humour grows throughout the film), the underlying story of "The Informant" is one that needs to be taken seriously. It's here that Soderbergh shows his greatest strength as a director. While "The Informant" is laced with plenty of dark humour, Soderbergh never allows it to deviate from the fact that this film is all about abuse on two levels: personal and corporate. Well worth seeing if only for Matt Damon's performance. 4 STARS." Synopsis

What was Mark Whitacre thinking? A rising star at agri-industry giant Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Whitacre suddenly turns whistleblower. Even as he exposes his company's multi-national price-fixing conspiracy to the FBI, Whitacre envisions himself being hailed as a hero of the common man and handed a promotion. But before all that can happen, the FBI needs evidence, so Whitacre eagerly agrees to wear a wire and carry a hidden tape recorder in his briefcase, imagining himself as a kind of de facto secret agent. Unfortunately for the FBI, their lead witness hasn't been quite so forthcoming about helping himself to the corporate coffers: a fact his employer uncovers when the FBI move in on them.His changing account frustrates the agents threatening the case against ADM. It becomes near impossible to decipher what is real and what is the product of Whitacre's active imagination.

Who Plays Who?

Matt Damon Melanie Lynskey Lucas Carroll Joel McHale Scott Bakula Ann Dowd Allan Havey William Marsh Paul F Tompkins Adam Paul Joshua Funk Candy Clark Frank Welker Gene Fojtik Dick Smothers Rome Kanda Yoshio Be Raymond Ma

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Mark Whitacre Ginger Whitacre Alexander Whitacre FBI Special Agent Bob Herndon FBI Special Agent Brian Shepard FBI Special Agent Kate Medford FBI Special Agent Dean Paisley FBI Special Agent Ken Temples FBI Special Agent Anthony D’Angelo FBI Special Agent Michael Bassett FBI Special Agent Robert Gran Mark Whitacre's Mother Mark Whitacre's Father Lawyer Judge Harold Baker Hirokazu Ikeda Kazutoshi Yamada Kanji Mimoto

The Production Team

Director Screenplay From the Producers Original Music Cinematography Film Editor Casting Production Design Art Direction Set Decoration Costume Design

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Steven Soderbergh Scott Z Burns book by Kurt Eichenwald Howard Braunstein/Kurt Eichenwald/Jennifer Fox Gregory Jacobs/Michael Jaffe Marvin Hamlisch Steven Soderbergh Stephen Mirrione Carmen Cuba Doug J Meerdink William O Hunter & David Scott Daniel B Clancy & Curtis Maneno Shoshana Rubin

Run Time 108 minutes Rated M [AUST] Copyright ©2009 - Warner Bros - All Rights Reserved Copyright ©2009 - Impact Internet Services & The Movie Pages - All Rights Reserved ©1999-2009 All Rights Reserved The Movie Pages - Protected by Australian & International Copyright. Trademark Laws Apply.