This is a strange movie, both funny and sad. It deals with corporate greed and an executive with serious mental problems; most likely bipolar illness. Matt Damon plays it brilliantly.The reviews do not address the mental illness theme. Mark Whitacre is a complex, maddening individual and it is difficult to not get seriously annoyed by his antics. Yet, I found this film fascinating. See Trailer. (DJE)
Our favorite critic of our, "The Movie Slut" sent us these comments:
" I had a strange reaction to The Informant! For the first half, I was completely thrown off by the music, which was very slapstick and didn't seem to go with what was happening on the screen. And then there were Whitacre's internal monologues, which I thought were providing some insight into the movie but turned out to just be the ramblings thoughts of a person with ADHD. I thought the movie came together about halfway through. Damon's character reminded me of Blagojevich. They both have this twisted way of looking at the world from purely their own viewpoint and seem incapable of thinking they have badly messed-up.
Anyway, here's what the Movie Slut wrote about The Informant! (Not my exclamation point)
Much has been made of the low-rent rug perched atop Matt Damon's head in The Informant!, the new flick in which he stars as F.B.I. whistle-blower Mark Whitacre. What's a gazillion times more interesting is this question: What the freaking heck is going on inside Whitacre's head?
Is he bipolar? Does he have Attention Deficit Disorder? Is he what we used to call a liar, liar pants on fire?
Expect an amusement park whip of a movie in which you're shot in and out of the dark. If you have a high tolerance for confusion, you'll be happy waiting until the movie reveals its hand. If not, you might throw up your hands in disgust.
The Movie Slut was put off by the 1950s look of the movie, which is set in the 1990s. And then there was the music. She thinks it was working too hard — signaling the audience that, 'Hey, director Steven Soderbergh is worried you might not find this funny, hence the slapstick soundtrack.'
The Movie Slut also suggests a long, hard look at Whitacre's wife Ginger. Talk about an enabler! (This is really where the exclamation point belongs.)"
