Mark Whitacre appears to be an unassuming, regular type guy who works his way slowly up the ladder of lysine developing company ADM. When the FBI targets Whitacre as a possible spy for undercover work in order to catch the illegal price-fixing activities of the company, Whitacre agrees to inform on them.

Having seen the promos on this film I got the impression this was a comedy but The Informant! doesn’t play as much as a comedy as I’d thought it would. The fact that it is based on a true story is appealing and a sobering thought once you watch the film. I certainly wanted to like this film more than I did but I can say it was a good film. The comedy style was so low key this really comes off as a drama more than anything else. The fact that many of the cast are comic actors is also interesting. Matt Damon gives an excellent performance and is the best part of the movie. The art direction is excellent as is the lighting for the film. Go into watching this movie with dark comedy, not laugh out loud comedy in mind if you rent it.

2009. Directed by Steven Soderbergh. Starring Matt Damon, Scott Bakula, Joel McCale, Melanie Lynskey, Eddie Jemison, Rusty Schwimmer, Tom Papa and Scott Adsit.

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