The Informant!

The Informant! is one of those quirky cool movies that only Hollywood can produce (any such movie here would probably result in burnt theatres and hundreds of court cases !!). Its based on a real story and the disclaimers before the movie sound like this

... some characters are composites and dialogue dramatized.
So there.

With that cheeky introduction, The Informant! starts off with Mark Whitacre, President of Bio-Products division at Archer Daniels Midland, an agri-business giant. He has an all-american family with wife Ginger and two kids, a big house and plans to build a horse stable. But soon it transforms into a corporate spying story as Whitacre turns into an informant for the FBI, first alleging sabotage by japanese rival Ajinamoto Co - and then price fixing of lysine (an amino acid) by his own employers.

(I didnt make it up! There is - or atleast was - an Ajinamoto Co in Japan)

But just as you are settling down to watch a gripping corporate crime story like The Insider, you are distracted by some inane tangential comments made by Mark Whitacre –

When polar bears hunt, they crouch down by a hole in the ice and wait for a seal to pop up. They keep one paw over their nose so that they blend in. Cuz’ they’ve got those black noses. They’d blend in perfectly if not for the nose...
So the question is - how do they know their noses are black? From looking at other polar bears? Do they see their reflections in the water? And think, “I’d be invisible if not for that.”
That seems like a lot of thinking for a bear.

This and many other random utterances cause you to start doubting Whitacre himself – is he the white hat he claims to be? And credit to director Steven Soderbergh (Ocean’s Eleven series, Erin Brockovich), he doesn’t for a moment let you know what is coming at the end of the movie. Not to mention, his handing of the potential serious drama is highly humorous and tongue-in-cheek.

Which maybe does a little disservice to Mark Whitacre himself – irrespective of his personal failings, he did help the greater good by his whistleblowing deed. Matt Damon is absolutely fantastic as the slightly overweight, middle-aged Mark Whitacre. His role as the erratic corporate whistle-blower has already generated oscar buzz.

Apart from a slightly slow middle segment, The Informant is a great watch. Its got a limited release in India, with a few shows at PVR and single shows at Fame & Fun Cinemas. So probably you are going to have to take a few pains to watch it – but its well worth your time.