The Informant! (2009)
Average Rating: 6.8/10
Reviews Counted: 208
Fresh: 163 | Rotten: 45
A charismatic turn by star Matt Damon and a consistently ironic tone boost this quietly funny satire about a corporate whistle-blower.
Average Rating: 6.7/10
Critic Reviews: 40
Fresh: 28 | Rotten: 12
A charismatic turn by star Matt Damon and a consistently ironic tone boost this quietly funny satire about a corporate whistle-blower.
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Average Rating: 2.6/5
User Ratings: 349,972
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Movie Info
A rising star in the agricultural industry suddenly turns whistleblower in hopes of gaining a lucrative promotion and becoming a hero of the common people, inadvertently revealing his penchant for helping himself to the corporate coffers and ultimately threatening to derail the very investigation he helped to launch in this offbeat comedy from Academy Award-winning director Steven Soderbergh. Mark Whitacre (Matt Damon) was fast rising through the ranks at agri-industry powerhouse Archer Daniels
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Cast
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Matt Damon
Mark Whitacre -
Scott Bakula
FBI Special Agent Brian... -
Joel McHale
FBI Special Agent Bob H... -
Melanie Lynskey
Ginger Whitacre -
Rick Overton
Terry Wilson -
Tom Papa
Mick Andreas -
Tony Hale
James Epstein -
Adam Paul
FBI Special Agent Micha... -
Paul F. Tompkins
FBI Special Agent Antho... -
William Marsh
FBI Special Agent Ken T... -
Joshua Funk
FBI Special Agent Rober... -
Ann Dowd
FBI Special Agent Kate ... -
Allan Havey
FBI Special Agent Dean ... -
Lucas Carroll
Alexander Whitacre -
Clancy Brown
Aubrey Daniel -
Patton Oswalt
Ed Herbst -
Hans Tester
Peter Dryer -
Wayne Pére
Sheldon Zenner -
Rome Kanda
Hirokazu Ikeda -
Raymond Ma
Kanji Mimoto -
Dann Seki
Joon Mo Suh -
Yoshio Be
Kazutoshi Yamada -
Jayden Lund
James Mutchnik -
Eddie Jemison
Kirk Schmidt -
Candy Clark
Mark Whitacre's Mother -
Frank Welker
Mark Whitacre's Father -
Tom Wilson
Mark Cheviron -
Ludger Pistor
Reinhard Richter -
Scott Adsit
Sid Hulse -
Rusty Schwimmer
Liz Taylor -
Dick Smothers
Judge Harold Baker -
Tom Smothers
Dwayne Andreas -
Bob Zany
John Dowd -
Joseph Chrest
Visiting Client -
Ann Cusack
Robin Mann -
Samantha Albert
Mary Spearing -
Jimmy Brogan
Dr. Derek Miller -
Richard S. Horvitz
Bob Zaideman -
Daniel Hagen
Scott Roberts -
Andrew Daly
Marty Allison -
Larry Clarke
Whitacre's Second Attor... -
Chic Daniel
FBI Agent at Raid -
Steve Seagren
Correctional Officer -
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The Informant! Trailer & Photos
All Critics (209) | Top Critics (40) | Fresh (164) | Rotten (47) | DVD (5)
In the end, it seems as though it's better to aim for searing moments and whiff on greatness than to shoot for the middle and hit it.
Top CriticIt may come across like a self-satisfied madcap bauble, but that titular exclamation mark is the key that unlocks the myriad subtextual delights of Soderbergh's timely latest.
Damon is an agile comic performer, and Soderbergh knows how to serve him up without losing sight of the ultimate seriousness behind it all.
Soderbergh is a good listener, too, always alert to the myriad ways his characters reveal, conceal and finally betray themselves in thought, word and deed.
Mark's collection of bizarre behaviors doesn't add up to a character.
Soderbergh has transformed this into a treatise on the incompetence of everyone involved: the informant, the corporation upon which he informs, the lawyers, and the FBI. Strangely enough, it's completely believable.
Drills away into the dark humor of a white-collar tattletale, his ever-widening web of deceit and a scrambled criminal mind with a couple of screws loose.
More funny-weird than funny-ha-ha. But still funny.
The Informant! is Soderbergh having fun, and it's a hoot to watch. With an Oscar caliber performance from Damon and a story so unique if it wasn't true you wouldn't believe, it's the first really good film of the fall.
A first class examination of corporate greed, the fluidity of reality, and man's constant need to portray himself as the hero.
The Soderbergh-Damon team has been honed and crafted into a viable investment
Soderbergh has decided to splurge on some big budget luxuries such as 'trained actors' and 'lighting' in his latest film (elements that have been missing from his more experimental works).
Soderbergh channels the inspired lunacy of his early absurdist comedy Schizopolis through the skillful populist storytelling of Ocean's 11.
If you arrive at the cinema looking forward to a frivolous, expertly produced, and very funny movie with a few cracking performances, then I think you might just be in luck.
Whistleblowing past the corporate graveyard!
...an odd film, one you may not expect coming. Which, if anything, gives it an extra edge and punch. (Blu-ray Edition)
Damon's too-tame-to-tantalize narrative voiceover throughout is monotonous, in an absurdist scam-within-a scam eavesdropper noir that needed more dramatic clout. And less lighthearted humor and a darker thrust, in keeping with this twisted subject matter.
Matt Damon saves the show with a perfectly unhinged portrait of the main character.
Soderbergh and Burns deftly present the puzzling information in a clear and highly entertaining manner, but for all of their hard, workmanlike efforts, the film is Damon's through and through.
Whitacre marks a very interesting reflection point in Matt Damon's career as it eerily evokes a controversial character he portrayed ten years ago, and probably the last time he was so deserved of awards consideration for a lead role.
The whole truth and mostly just the truth
A showcase for Matt Damon's talents, but a dramatically confused film.
Audience Reviews for The Informant!
Super Reviewer
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- Mark Whitacre: Is it Porsche or Porsche'?
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- Terry Wilson: Well, there you have it, from Mark Whitacre, Ph.D. You know what the Ph.D. stands for, don't you? Piled higher and deeper.
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- Mark Whitacre: Paranoid is what people who are trying to take advantage of you call you to get you to drop your guard!
Discussion Forum
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Latest News on The Informant!
December 23, 2010:
Matt Damon Says Steven Soderbergh Is Serious About RetiringEntertainers threaten to retire all the time, but according to a recent interview between Matt Damon...
February 22, 2010:
RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: The Informant! and The Damned UnitedLast week, we featured a list of new home video releases that only included one Rotten film, which...
September 18, 2009:
Scott Bakula Talks The Informant!He's currently in "The Informant!" but Collider had plenty of other stuff to ask Scott Bakula about...
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Foreign Titles
- Der Informant! (DE)
- The Informant (UK)
