+ Best True-Story Movie of the Year
 |
| Matt Damon looks hilariously moronic on this poster for Steven Soderbergh's The Informant! |
In the beginning of the 1990s, a rising star in a major agricultural company in Illinois decides to reveal practices involving prize-fixing, embezzlement and mob methods in his own business in regards to the enormous and enormously overlooked lysine market, (an animal feed additive.) - But who is this Mark Whitacre?
Hold on to your straps, because The Informant! sweeps you on a super-intelligent ride into an incredible true story, which unfolds in such a way that one can only guess along the way as to how things actually fit together. Matt Damon (Good Will Hunting (1997)) is eminent in the title role, who also acts as the story's unreliable narrator. He leads a phenomenal supporting cast of lesser known actors and stand up comedians, who contribute to the film's hilarious moments.
To this is added a hijinks game score by Marvin Hamlisch (Bananas (1971)), whose last score this was before his death in 2012, and the usual super photography we have been led to expect from master Georgian director-cinematographer Steven Soderbergh's (King of the Hill (1993)) films.
The Informant! is written by Scott Z. Burns (Side Effects (2013)), based on Kurt Eichenwald's (Serpent on the Rock (2007)) non-fiction book The Informant (2000), and Burns' script is an always moving animal with a great eye for the often humorous paradoxes of the story. The Informant! is a crazy-good film, which I highly recommended.
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Box office: 41.7 mil. $
= Big flop
[The Informant! premiered 7 September (Venice International Film Festival) and runs 108 minutes. Filming took place in Arizona, Illinois, including Chicago, Hawaii, California, including Los Angeles, Missouri, Paris, France and in Zurich, Switzerland from April - June 2008 with additional shooting in November 2008. The film opened #2, behind fellow new release Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, to a 10.4 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it fell to #4 in its second week and then left the top 5, grossing 33.3 mil. $ (79.9 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were France with 2.1 mil. $ (5 %) and Australia with 1.2 mil. $ (2.9 %). Roger Ebert gave the film a 4/4 star review, translating to a notch better than this review. The film was nominated for 2 Golden Globes. The Informant! is certified fresh at 79 % with a 6.8 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
What do you think of The Informant!?
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