Few first run films fail on every level like Steve Soderbergh's The Informant. The convoluted plot is without suspense and humorless, performances are lackluster, the cinematography is washed out and the game show, Hee Haw music score grating and annoying ten minutes into this crashing bore.
Matt Damon is Mark Whitarce, an agri business chemist who becomes an FBI informant in order to expose a price fixing scheme at his company. As he works with his handlers to blow the lid off the scheme it begins to become apparent he's not being upfront about his own misdeeds. As things begin to unravel so does the film.
In utilizing Whitarcre as a narrator Soderbergh cleverly allows the audience to think we are in the omniscient position of being his confidant. Whitacre who clearly exhibits a couple of acronym disorders seems trustworthy and noble to take on the role of the whistle blower. But he begins to get caught up in lies and half truths and what seems evident after he flunks a polygraph test takes the FBI nearly a decade ( the chronology revealed by Pepto Bismol pink titles done in a Dating Game font) to uncover.
The Informant is so drab and crass in story line and presentation it leads one to believe that Hollywood heavy hitter Soderbergh's intent is to make a statement about corporate corruption in The Heartland. Not only are they guilty of hypocrisy and greed but also bereft of style and personality. The characters led by Matt Damon's sleepwalking are passionless and of little depth. Much of the time they stand around with blank expressions waiting out the tedious scene stretching that helps drain the film of suspense. The lifeless cinematography is poorly lit an filled with sloppy composition. It's a long way from Vegas and Ocean and void of all the slickness exposes the limited reach of Soderbergh's abilities. In the hands of more accomplished and talented filmmakers such as the Coen brothers (see Fargo) or Alex Payne (see Citizen Ruth) the Informant's possibilities as a satiric comic suspense more than likely would have soared. But with Soderbergh at the helm this limp and lifeless story never gets beyond tepid.
Matt Damon is Mark Whitarce, an agri business chemist who becomes an FBI informant in order to expose a price fixing scheme at his company. As he works with his handlers to blow the lid off the scheme it begins to become apparent he's not being upfront about his own misdeeds. As things begin to unravel so does the film.
In utilizing Whitarcre as a narrator Soderbergh cleverly allows the audience to think we are in the omniscient position of being his confidant. Whitacre who clearly exhibits a couple of acronym disorders seems trustworthy and noble to take on the role of the whistle blower. But he begins to get caught up in lies and half truths and what seems evident after he flunks a polygraph test takes the FBI nearly a decade ( the chronology revealed by Pepto Bismol pink titles done in a Dating Game font) to uncover.
The Informant is so drab and crass in story line and presentation it leads one to believe that Hollywood heavy hitter Soderbergh's intent is to make a statement about corporate corruption in The Heartland. Not only are they guilty of hypocrisy and greed but also bereft of style and personality. The characters led by Matt Damon's sleepwalking are passionless and of little depth. Much of the time they stand around with blank expressions waiting out the tedious scene stretching that helps drain the film of suspense. The lifeless cinematography is poorly lit an filled with sloppy composition. It's a long way from Vegas and Ocean and void of all the slickness exposes the limited reach of Soderbergh's abilities. In the hands of more accomplished and talented filmmakers such as the Coen brothers (see Fargo) or Alex Payne (see Citizen Ruth) the Informant's possibilities as a satiric comic suspense more than likely would have soared. But with Soderbergh at the helm this limp and lifeless story never gets beyond tepid.