The Informant 022310

Matt Damon plays Mark Whitacre, a young executive with a company called ADM that deals in agricultural products, particularly corn by-products. He becomes aware of corporate crime and goes to the FBI about it. They ask him to be a spy for them and help take down the company; a job he’s really not qualified for.

This movie exhibits one thing that we are all very aware of: Matt Damon is a really good actor. He’s gone through the roles of a hard raised genius, a borderline psychotic angel of death, a reluctant super agent who doesn’t want to be, a young, excited thief desperate to prove himself to the big dogs, and now a character that can only be described as a dork. The way he dresses, the way he walks, the way he talks are all so not Jason Bourne or even Matt Damon that it’s easy to forget who it is. Mark’s ineptitude at being a spy is really great to watch, and it’s great that this movie never goes anti-corporate America on you. Right now, that’s refreshing.

The biggest setback for the movie is it’s based on a true story. The problem with true stories is they rarely just end and once we get to the end of this one it blends into another story. This would be fine, but the movie also switches gears on you. It goes from being and enjoyable comedy (not hilarious but enjoyable) to being some kind of psychological drama. You essentially end up watching two different, but good, movies. However, you don’t want to do that and the flip is kind of jarring.

Spot on acting throughout from all involved make this movie worth watching but it can’t save it from its story problems. C.