Python Hyena The Informant (2009): Dir: Steven Soderbergh / Cast: Matt Damon, Scott Bakula, Joel McHale, Melanie Lynskey, Ann Dowd: Provocative dark comedy about whistle blower Mark Whitacre and his association with the F.B.I with regards to price fixing tactics within a company he worked for. Unfortunately due to his bipolar disorder he slowly began to crack under pressure leading to his own downfall. Clever screenplay and one of Steven Soderbergh's best films. Soderbergh previously made such superb films as Traffic and Full Frontal. Matt Damon delivers a flawless and amusing performance as Whitacre. This ranks as one of his greatest efforts as he pulls off the humour of the ironic situation itself. Then he slowly descends into madness not knowing truth or false. Scott Bakula and Joel McHale are superb as F.B.I agents who wants badly to believe him and are disappointed when his condition and scam surface as it is. Melanie Lynskey plays Whitacre's wife who obviously must maintain a sense of understanding for something that she will not fully grasp at first. She tries to convince him to turn himself in but he is driven too far into the ploy. Ann Dowd plays a FBI special agent brought in to expose this whole ordeal. This is a well crafted film is easily Soderbergh at his best. The result is an often funny portrayal of paranoia and getting the facts in order. Score: 9 ½ / 10

PipAndSqueak Whilst wading through the book on which this film is based is a bit of a trial, this production brings alive the clever stupidity of the man-who-would-be-king Mark Whittacre. Matt Damon is perfectly cast - both for the voice over and the leading role. I laughed as I saw this conceited arxx-hxxx brought to life. Oh, so many times have I met his type. Usually, however, those I've met have been stopped in their greedy tracks because their selfish objectives have been so obvious. It's obvious from this film that some of the otherwise sceptical or truth seeing people are blinded by the affluence enjoyed by the players in the story. Well, there's a lesson for you. Laugh whilst you learn. This is a fabulous entertainment for jaded white-collar types anywhere!

LeonLouisRicci It's all so hilarious, those goofy, quirky Corporate types that siphon Billions from the Rubes as they go merrily along as they fashion themselves Masters of the Universe. There is so much Money that keeping track of it all is futile at best. That makes for some easy pickings even for those who can barely tell you what day it is. They are so self-involved in the bubble of self-confidence and an everyone is doing it mind-set that they have no time for ethics. Leave that for the great unwashed. Yes, its all so humorous, or so Director Soderbergh believes that you must just chuckle along with these Clowns as they kill the economy with Memos and manipulations of Prices and Products. Even more outrageous is the fact that this is a True Story so the Filmmakers feel no need to Editorialize. It's all played out as a Peep-Show for the little People.In the end this Black Comedy informs us that the Corporate law breakers (stealing Billions) get half as much Jail Time as the schmuck who blew the whistle (he stole Millions) and there's the rub. Ain't it all hilarious. Just laugh it off as an Entertaining Romp all delivered as a Fluffy Affair with Musical Kazoos and bouncy Rhythms decked out in Game Show Colors. It's all such a Hoot. Laugh it all off and...Mr. and Mrs. America, come on down.

Andrew Christopher Heard Back in 2009, one of the first films that I went to see at the Toronto International Film Festival was The Informant, starring Matt Damon and Scott Bakula. I had never really checked out a film festival before and so the experience itself was rather strange. It's interesting then that one of my first films at the festival was a pretty strange film itself. First and foremost is the fact that Matt Damon almost disappears into the role of Mark Whitacre as a bio-chemist at a middle-American corn producer known as ADM.There are a number of actors who can't really move beyond their fame. Actors like George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Robert DeNiro and Woody Harrelson are the kind of actors who I can only ever see as the actors they are and not the roles that they play. There are exceptions to that rule, for instance, Woody Harrelson in 'Defendor', Brad Pitt as Tyler Durden in 'Fight Club', and George Clooney as Everett McGill in 'O Brother, Where Art Thou?' Matt Damon on the other hand can sometimes be a bit of a wild card in the roles that he takes. Roles like 'Dogma' or 'Ocean's 11', while incredible, are roles in which he seems to have been cast for the fact of his status as an actor whereas a role like Jason Bourne or Will Hunting, he finds a way to disappear into the role he is playing and you almost forget who he is.I would put 'The informant' in the category of one where he disappears, the subtle way in which he portrays a nervous yet simple man who believes in doing the right thing despite his co-workers views of things and business practises is nothing short of brilliant. But the portrayal is not the only good thing about the film. As the story progresses, you start to realize that things are not entirely what they seem in the world Mark Whitacre inhabits. This begins a series of twists and turns to the plot that would normally be seen in a crime drama or a political thriller but feels right at home in this rather strange and quiet comedy.Perhaps it's the fact that so many of the characters seem genuine and honest in the way they deal with the situation at hand, the question of price fixing in the international markets of corn, that makes some of the eventual betrayals so damning and difficult to watch yet so very funny at the same time. The film ultimately becomes one in which there is no clear bad guy in all of it. Not because people haven't done something wrong, but because you end up caring about the characters despite what they've done. None of the characters really seem underhanded or angry in what they do. Perhaps that's why when things start to go wrong you don't really see it coming.So much about this movie is understated and unexpected. From the acting to the camera work and the storytelling, which I think is what makes it work so well. This isn't a movie about clear lines between right and wrong, or good versus bad. It's about people, and the way in which people go wrong in their pursuit of success.Would you hire The Informant? I probably wouldn't, but I would definitely hire the people who made the film.To check out more of my reviews, go here:http://andrew-heard.blogspot.ca/