A lightweight yet likeable cross between The Insider and Catch Me If You Can.
The Informant! (2009)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
Reviews Counted:185
Fresh:142
Rotten:43
Average Rating:6.8/10
Consensus: A charismatic turn by star Matt Damon and a consistently ironic tone boost this quietly funny satire about a corporate whistle-blower.
Rated: R [See Full Rating] for language
Genre: Comedies
Theatrical Release:Sep 18, 2009 Wide
Box Office: $33,278,731
Synopsis:
What was Mark Whitacre thinking? A rising star at agri-industry giant Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Whitacre (Matt Damon) suddenly turns whistleblower. Even as he exposes his company's...
What was Mark Whitacre thinking? A rising star at agri-industry giant Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Whitacre (Matt Damon) 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. Whitacre's ever-changing account frustrates the agents (Scott Bakula and Joel McHale) and threatens the case against ADM as it becomes almost impossible to decipher what is real and what is the product of Whitacre's active imagination.
Academy Award® winner Matt Damon ("Good Will Hunting," the "Bourne" movies) stars in "The Informant!," based on the true story of the highest-ranking corporate whistleblower in U.S. history. The film also stars Scott Bakula, Joel McHale and Melanie Lynskey.
"The Informant!" is directed by Academy Award® winner Steven Soderbergh ("Traffic") from a screenplay by Scott Z. Burns, based on the book The Informant (A True Story), written by Kurt Eichenwald. The film is produced by Gregory Jacobs, Jennifer Fox, Michael Jaffe, Howard Braunstein and Kurt Eichenwald. George Clooney, Jeff Skoll and Michael London served as executive producers, with Michael Polaire co-producing.
The behind-the-scenes creative team includes production designer Doug Meerdink, editor Stephen Mirrione and costume designer Shoshana Rubin. The music is by multiple Oscar® winner and nominee Marvin Hamlisch ("The Sting," "The Way We Were").
Warner Bros. Pictures presents, in association with Participant Media and Groundswell Productions, a Section Eight-Jaffe/Braunstein Enterprise, "The Informant!" --© Warner Bros
Starring: Matt Damon, Scott Bakula, Joel McHale, Melanie Lynskey
Starring: Matt Damon, Scott Bakula, Joel McHale, Melanie Lynskey, Tony Hale, Thomas F. Wilson, Rick Overton, Tom Papa, Adam Paul, Paul F. Tompkins, Clancy Brown, Patton Oswalt
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Screenwriter: Scott Z. Burns
Producer: Gregory Jacobs, Jennifer Fox, Howard Braunstein, Kurt Eichenwald
Composer: Marvin Hamlisch
Studio: Warner Bros.
Get This Movie
Rent DVD
Click on the "SAVE" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.
Reviews for The Informant!
Although Damon is on brilliantly bumbling form, The Informant! ultimately comes off as Soderbergh’s Burn After Reading – a diversionary lark until he gets back to serious filmmaking.
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.
It's a tough sell, for sure: a not-quite-comedy, not-quite-drama about a long-forgotten crime. But this is a rewarding film: slyly cynical about big business, American justice, and the men who represent both.
Damon makes his character ridiculous in a very convincing way while never for a moment overplaying.
Damon conveys the vulnerability of his character, but the script fails to explore why Whitacre makes the choices he does. He's simply buffoonish.
Quirky and eccentric rather than laugh-out-loud funny, mildly amusing rather than fully involving.
Damon is great. His comic timing as Mark Whitacre, a biochemist turned inept corporate whistleblower, transforms what should have been a dull film into an entertaining one.
Scott Z Burns’s script hinges entirely on incidents that take place off-screen. The film will only work if audiences fail to notice this. But they won’t, so it won’t.
The problem with The Informant!, aside from that overcoaxing exclamation mark, is that it's not especially funny.
An amusing and beautifully acted little caper but the very American shenanigans may well struggle to keep you entirely engaged.
An engaging corporate comedy-drama that continually catches us (and the characters) off guard. It's great fun to watch, and has a strongly resonant kick.
After 1½ hours of ker-azee chuckles, you get one big clunker of a climax tossed in your lap.
While there are difficulties with the tone and the almost smug, clever-clever attitude of The Informant, the unusual nature of the story and, above all else, the performance of Damon make it worth catching.
This is Soderbergh having fun with his craft again – and inviting us to join in the laughs.
It's the kind of movie that stymies my proper critical eye (and ability to write) due to being so jumbled and ambitious, much like its hero.
The exclamation point in the title combined with the burnt orange color scheme and silly haircuts and facial hair tells you all you need to know about Soderbergh's approach.
Creo que en manos de unos cineastas como los hermanos Coen, por ejemplo, el resultado sería infinitamente más divertido.
Confronts us with the inveterate human capacity for self-justification we are all prone to casting ourselves as the hero of our own drama and the victim of our own tragedy.
Latest News for The Informant!
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 during their interview -- including, of course, his stint on "Quantum Leap." More...
September 17, 2009:
Critics Consensus: Jennifer's Body Is Hot, But The Movie Isn't
This week at the movies, we've got a possessed student body (Jennifer's Body, starring Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried); an oddball snitch (The Informant!, starring Matt Damon and... More...
September 09, 2009:
click for trailer and preview ![]()
More...
July 12, 2009:
Trailer & Poster review ![]()
More...
RT On Current TV
DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
CloseSponsored Links
Around The Network
- The Informant! at Rotten Tomatoes
- The Informant! at IGN
Fresh Links
Featured

MSN Movies offers a little background on the success of Disney Animation.

TIME takes a look back at the history of vampires on film.

Techland examines the visual splendor of Peter Jackson's upcoming film.

AOL put together a list of 10 recent news items that would be perfect as TV Movies.
Promos

Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!






