The Informant: DVD Review

The Informant: DVD Review

The Informant
Rating: M
Released by Warner Home Video

The Informant! is the tale of Mark Whitacre (Matt Damon) a rising executive at the American agricultural firm during the 1990s.

Despite doing well within the company, Whitacre ends up blowing the whistle to an FBI agent (Scott Bakula) about apparent price fixing within the market instigated by the very people he works with.

However, as the FBI dig deeper into what's going on, Whitacre reveals more about the company's involvement with lysine, an additive used in the commercial livestock industry.

And that's nothing in comparison to the odd behaviour exhibited by Whitacre the closer the FBI gets&

Based on an apparently true story, there's a feeling of growing incredulity the longer the film goes on. Matt Damon's Whitacre is clearly a conflicted and bipolar character, whose tormented inner monologue at key moments see him ruminate on the minutiae of life - one side comment sees him wondering how polar bears learnt to cover their black noses when hunting given they had no concept of black and white.

It's a dark comedy that Steven Soderbergh's created in places - but with tremendously solid performances from the likes of Damon and Taranaki's very own Melanie Lynskey (who plays Whitacre's long suffering wife), you're never quite 100% sure where to laugh - or even if you should.

Rating: 7/10