The Informant! (2009)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Steven Soderbergh

Writers (WGA):

Scott Z. Burns (screenplay)
Kurt Eichenwald (book)

Release Date:

18 September 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Based on a tattle-tale

Plot:

The U.S. government decides to go after an agri-business giant with a price-fixing accusation, based on the evidence submitted by their star witness, vice president turned informant Mark Whitacre.

Plot Keywords:

Pathological Liar | Punctuation In Title | Exclamation Point In Title | Based On Novel

US Showtimes:

Culver Plaza Theatres

12:20pm | 5:05 | 9:30

(personalize)

Cast

Matt Damon	...	Mark Whitacre
Lucas McHugh Carroll	...	Alexander Whitacre (as Lucas Carroll)
Eddie Jemison	...	Kirk Schmidt
Rusty Schwimmer	...	Liz Taylor
Craig Ricci Shaynak	...	Discouraged Foreman
Tom Papa	...	Mick Andreas
Rick Overton	...	Terry Wilson
Melanie Lynskey	...	Ginger Whitacre
Thomas F. Wilson	...	Mark Cheviron (as Tom Wilson)
Scott Bakula	...	FBI Special Agent Brian Shepard
Scott Adsit	...	Sid Hulse
Ann Dowd	...	FBI Special Agent Kate Medford
Allan Havey	...	FBI Special Agent Dean Paisley
Howie Johnson	...	Rusty Williams
Joel McHale	...	FBI Special Agent Bob Herndon

MPAA:

Rated R for language.

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #44918) | Ireland:15A | Finland:K-3 | Italy:T | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Canada:14A (Alberta/Manitoba/Ontario) | Iceland:7 | Canada:G (Québec) | Australia:M | Canada:PG (British Columbia) | Singapore:NC-16 | UK:15 | Japan:G | Portugal:M/12 | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Germany:12 (f) | Netherlands:AL | Hong Kong:IIB

Filming Locations:

Blue Mound, Illinois, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

The line about him being agent "0014" is almost exactly the same as was used in "Gilligan's Island: The Invasion (#3.11)" (1966). In a dream sequence where Gilligan is playing the part of agent 014, Mrs. Howell states, "You're twice as smart as 007".

Goofs:

Anachronisms: A character is looking at a box of granola bars and the nutrition information box is shown on the back. This information did not appear on products until years later.

Quotes:

Mark Whitacre: Polar bears cover their noses before they pounce on a seal. How do polar bears know their noses are black? Did they look in the water one day, see their reflection and say, "Man, I'd be invisible if it wasn't for that thing."

Movie Connections:

Features The Firm (1993)

The Ugly American

I think, but I'm not sure, this was meant to be a sort of comedy, a satirical social commentary. Marvin Hamlisch's music score seems to be underlying that. Well, sorry, didn't work for me. Mostly because Matt Damon goes through it winking at the audience. I couldn't believe in that character at all, not for a minute. On the positive side, Steven Soderbergh and "his cinematographer" understand the ugliness of the story, uglier that funny that's for sure and never betrays that idea. It looks as if shot on video and that helps very much the urge to stay away from this character and his world. Who was Matt Damon's character, really? Frankly my dear I don't give a damn.