The Informant!Review: 0/5
Before the opening credits begin to roll, there is a title card presented, acknowledging the approach the filmmakers have taken in interpreting the story of Mark Whitacre, who was the President of Archer Daniel Midland's BioProducts Division while acting as an informant for the FBI investigating price fixing, soon after coming under investigation himself for embezzlement. The card is a supposed plea for clemency, ending with a smug sub-line that immediately establishes the haughtiness and lack of humanity director Steven Soderbergh and his crew took in orchestrating the film. It reads: "So there."
"So there," as reputable filmmakers, we thought it was necessary to utilize scapegoating as a platform for humor. Mr. Whitacre made obvious mistakes in his life, but we can't forgive him just because he claims to have a mental disorder. It's a bit audacious, sure, to portray him as a hyperbolic 'teen-loser' who has an infatuation with corn - I know, what a moron - but he doesn't deserve justice. People like this need to be laughed at - it's tough love, right?
"So there," we're going to overexpose the background and shoot with a soft focus because those elements are contradictory, much like Whitacre is with his ludicrous bipolar thing or whatever. The point is, it's motivated aesthetically. Especially for a light comedy like this one - which is what it is. Check out the one-sheet (above). Funny right?!
"So there," we're going to cast Joel McHale, Patton Oswalt, Tom Papa, and Tom Smothers because that way the audience will be sure it's a comedy, and not have to second-guess. Oh, and also we'll cast Clancy Brown. You know, the Warden's Right-Hand Man in the Shawshank Redemption? Yeah, he's hilarious. People will definitely understand it's a comedy.
"So there," we'll use bubblegum-colored title cards throughout the film in a real 70s-like font, that way people will remember they're having fun laughing at Whitacre and all his crazy observations. They're really just so silly, aren't they? Like when he relates via voiceover in a playfully lighthearted tone, that he thinks FBI Special Agent Brian Shepard seems like a good guy. A nice listener, he says. A guy he could go fishing with. Foolish Mark. He's so off the wall (cue laughter... right?) Well, the audience will know.
"So there," we'll hold the spectators in our US society in contempt for allowing a stupid man like Whitacre to get away with everything he did. We figure the best way to treat people who are soulless and have self-proclaimed "mental disorders" is to position them high on a pedestal and tease them relentlessly until they acknowledge their own idiocy (tomatoes and various other vegetables will be involved in this hazing).
So there is my review of this repugnant film. It's a dreadful expose' that should appeal to the inner-bully that's nestled at the heart of American idealism. Does this kind of content really amuse people? If so, it's a horrifying reality to acknowledge. Take one more look at that one-sheet (above). "Unbelievable" is right.
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