Matt Damon has always been more than a dependable screen presence and unlike his co-Oscar winning writing partner Ben Affleck (who, thankfully, has managed to steer his career back on track), has had a more consistently solid film career. Here in The Informant - based on real events - he gives I believe to be a top three performance of his. The trailers and TV spots, I think, unwisely made this film appear to be a little more goofy than it really is. This is more than just a comedy. Don't get me wrong, this film has its share of funny moments and they're all perfectly handled at just the right times within the film. There's more to it than that though. It's partly comedy, partly satire and partly corporate thriller (I'm using that genre a bit loosely here). The comedy is more human than anything as it focuses on a man who starts with good intentions, but slowly unravels as we see his character develop. We're laughing at folly created by a man who gets more and more in over his head, trying to shoot for the moon. Those around him, though, clearly aren't laughing. I've always been a sucker for those type of stories and the way director Steven Soderbergh and writer Scott Z. Burns unfold just a little bit here, then a little bit more, and then a little bit more as the film progresses is great stuff. We expect greatness from Soderbergh, but Burns - who prior to this film was mostly known just for co-writing The Bourne Ultimatum, but followed this film with Contagion and Side Effects - really showed what he's capable of as a writer here. Matt Damon's performance alone is enough for me to say see it, and his random, meandering first person narrative throughout the film is excellent. Throw in a terrific supporting cast, a sharp script by Burns, and the usual style and flare from Soderbergh, and you have a greatly entertaining film.
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Benjamin's Stash: Video Pick of the Week
Hello, readers. Elysium, starring Matt Damon and Jodie Foster, opens this Friday. This week's recommended viewing pick will be dedicated to a film starring "Meatt Daaaymon!" If you've seen Trey Parker and Matt Stone's Team America: World Police, you'll get that reference.
The Informant! stars Matt Damon as Mark Whitacre, a rising star at the Illinois based Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), an American food-processing corporation. At the urging of his wife Ginger (Melanie Lynskey), Whitacre blows the whistle to the FBI Agents Brian Shepard (Scott Bakula) and Robert Herndon (Joel McHale) on certain price-fixing tactics going down at his company. The FBI wants to use Whitacre in gathering as much evidence as possible to warrant a raid of the company. Given Whitacre's personality, that proves to be a lot harder than it sounds. He struggles with bi-polar disorder, can't handle high-pressure scenarios to save his life, and his own personal ambitions of possibly running the company after the conspiracy has died down always manage to get in the way.
Matt Damon has always been more than a dependable screen presence and unlike his co-Oscar winning writing partner Ben Affleck (who, thankfully, has managed to steer his career back on track), has had a more consistently solid film career. Here in The Informant - based on real events - he gives I believe to be a top three performance of his. The trailers and TV spots, I think, unwisely made this film appear to be a little more goofy than it really is. This is more than just a comedy. Don't get me wrong, this film has its share of funny moments and they're all perfectly handled at just the right times within the film. There's more to it than that though. It's partly comedy, partly satire and partly corporate thriller (I'm using that genre a bit loosely here). The comedy is more human than anything as it focuses on a man who starts with good intentions, but slowly unravels as we see his character develop. We're laughing at folly created by a man who gets more and more in over his head, trying to shoot for the moon. Those around him, though, clearly aren't laughing. I've always been a sucker for those type of stories and the way director Steven Soderbergh and writer Scott Z. Burns unfold just a little bit here, then a little bit more, and then a little bit more as the film progresses is great stuff. We expect greatness from Soderbergh, but Burns - who prior to this film was mostly known just for co-writing The Bourne Ultimatum, but followed this film with Contagion and Side Effects - really showed what he's capable of as a writer here. Matt Damon's performance alone is enough for me to say see it, and his random, meandering first person narrative throughout the film is excellent. Throw in a terrific supporting cast, a sharp script by Burns, and the usual style and flare from Soderbergh, and you have a greatly entertaining film.
Matt Damon has always been more than a dependable screen presence and unlike his co-Oscar winning writing partner Ben Affleck (who, thankfully, has managed to steer his career back on track), has had a more consistently solid film career. Here in The Informant - based on real events - he gives I believe to be a top three performance of his. The trailers and TV spots, I think, unwisely made this film appear to be a little more goofy than it really is. This is more than just a comedy. Don't get me wrong, this film has its share of funny moments and they're all perfectly handled at just the right times within the film. There's more to it than that though. It's partly comedy, partly satire and partly corporate thriller (I'm using that genre a bit loosely here). The comedy is more human than anything as it focuses on a man who starts with good intentions, but slowly unravels as we see his character develop. We're laughing at folly created by a man who gets more and more in over his head, trying to shoot for the moon. Those around him, though, clearly aren't laughing. I've always been a sucker for those type of stories and the way director Steven Soderbergh and writer Scott Z. Burns unfold just a little bit here, then a little bit more, and then a little bit more as the film progresses is great stuff. We expect greatness from Soderbergh, but Burns - who prior to this film was mostly known just for co-writing The Bourne Ultimatum, but followed this film with Contagion and Side Effects - really showed what he's capable of as a writer here. Matt Damon's performance alone is enough for me to say see it, and his random, meandering first person narrative throughout the film is excellent. Throw in a terrific supporting cast, a sharp script by Burns, and the usual style and flare from Soderbergh, and you have a greatly entertaining film.
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