The Informant! is based on the real-life case of corporate whistleblower, Mark Whitacre, as told by award-winning investigative journalist, Kurt Eichenwald. Director Steven Soderbergh (Ocean’s Trilogy, The Girlfriend Experience) has taken a story which was essentially a drama, and retold it as a comedy. With a fantastic script from Scott Z. Burns (The Bourne Ultimatum, An Inconvenient Truth) and the title role filled by long-time Soderbergh collaborator, Matt Damon (The Bourne Trilogy, Ocean’s Trilogy), the end result is a clever, funny and fascinating story of one man and his battle with truth.

You are probably better off going into this film, knowing as little as possible about the case involving Mark Whitacre and ADM (Archer Daniels Midland). Simply put, Whitacre is the highest-ranking corporate whistleblower in American history for his role in the 1990s FBI case against the agri-business’ price fixing.

In this version of events the filmmakers have chosen to focus on the character and intentions of Whitacre. Using his inner monologues to show him as a fantasist, who believes his life is like a Michael Crichton or John Grisham novel, and his outer platitudes to show the naïve optimist who thinks everything will turn out alright in the end. Damon is brilliant, portraying Whitacre as more than just the butt of the film’s jokes.

With a great cast including Melanie Lynskey (Heavenly Creatures) as Ginger, Mark’s supportive wife, and Scott Bakula (TV actor best known for Quantum Leap) as the friendly FBI agent Brian Shepard, Soderbergh decided to cast many of the other roles using stand-up comedians like Joel McHale, Tom Papa, Rick Overton and Tony Hale, asking these funny men to play the straight guy.

Filming with a high-definition digital camera, red cam and filming entirely on location, Soderbergh has a created an authenticity to the visual aesthetic of the film. Using the Whitacres’ old home in Decatur Illinois, a grandiose house with its eight car garage, must have helped the actors get into character. Cocooning this 90s story with 70s influenced score (from Marvin Hamlisch of A Chorus Line fame) and graphics heightens the comedic feel of the film.

The Informant! illustrates how often fact is stranger than fiction, its absurdist humour exploring the inner-workings of the intriguing Whitacre. Those more familiar with the story may see The Informant! as poking fun at mental illness. Leaving this element largely untouched in the plot shows sensitivity to the issue. Soderbergh and his team seem to have a soft-spot for Whitacre, creating an excellent comedy from a compelling story, ever mindful that real people are the source for the material.

The Informant! is released nationally in Australia on the 3^rd December

Director: Steven Soderbergh

Cast: Matt Damon, Melanie Lynskey, Scott Bakula, Joel McHale, Tom Papa, Rick Overton, Tony Hale

Go here to download a podcast interview with screenwriter Scott Z. Burns from Creative Screenwriting Magazine.

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