Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!: The Informant! (2009) - Soderbergh and Damon's terrific true-crime dramedy

8/25/2017

The Informant! (2009) - Soderbergh and Damon's terrific true-crime dramedy

♥♥♥♥♥

+ 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.

Related posts:

Steven Soderbergh: 2015 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
Magic Mike XXL (2015) - Lots of fun and skin but still no gay as Mike goes to the convention (cinematographer, editor)
2013 in films - according to Film Excess
Side Effects (2013) - Modern people screw up in excellent thriller
Behind the Candelabra (2013) - Restraint and extravagance
Magic Mike (2012) - Soderbergh and Tatum score big with cheeky male strip romp
2011 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2011 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2011 in films - according to Film Excess
Contagion (2011) - Soderbergh's global pandemic creep-out
Haywire (2011) - Soderbergh's taut, stylish ensemble actioner is a masterpiece

2009 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED IV]
2009 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2009 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2009 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
Che Part One - The Argentine (2008) - Soderbergh's sober depiction of the Cuban revolution
Solaris (2002) - A suffering space question mark
Erin Brockovich (2000) - Roberts, Soderbergh and Grant's triumphant biopic

Watch a 2-minute clip from the film here

Cost: 22 mil. $
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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William Friedkin has died

Born in Chicago, Friedkin accrued TV credits prior to his advance to the big screen as the director of Good TImes (1967), The Birthday Party (1968), The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968) and The Boys in the Band (1970) before his major breakthrough, The French Connection (1971), for which he won his only Oscar. He followed it up with the even bigger smash, The Exorcist (1973), arguably the best horror film of all time, for which he was Oscar-nominated. Later credits include Sorcerer (1977), Cruising (1980), To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), Rampage (1987), Rules of Engagement (2000), Killer Joe (2011) and The Devil and Father Amorth (2017, documentary). Friedkin passed away at age 87. R.I.P.

Louise Fletcher has passed away

Born in Alabama to deaf parents, Fletcher got her first credits in late-1950s TV-series.She took a 10 year-long sabbatical to devote her time to motherhood after the release of A Gathering of Eagles, but then came back and soon saw her career's most important part, as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), for which she won her sole Oscar. Later credits include Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), The Lucky Star (1980), Brainstorm (1983), Two Moon Junction (1988), Cruel Intentions (1999), A Perfect Man (2013) and many more. Fletcher passed away at age 88. R.I.P.

Jean-Luc Godard has passed away

Born in Paris, France, Godard lived much of his life in Switzerland. He wrote for French film criticism magazine Cahiers du Cinema and became foundational for the New French Wave that inspired new waves in scores of other countries across the world with his Breathless (1960). Later credits include A Woman Is A Woman (1961), Vivre Sa Vie (1962), Le Petit Soldat (1962), Contempt (1963), Alphaville (1965), Pierrot le Fou (1965), 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (1967), Weekend (1967), Every Man for Himself (1980), King Lear (1987), Century of Cinema (1995, documentary), Goodbye to Language (2014) and many more. Godard died of assisted suicide at age 91. R.I.P.

Wolfgang Petersen has died

James Caan has died

Caan was born the son of Jewish immigrants from Germany in New York. He got his start on TV in the early 1960s. His credits include El Dorado (1966), The Rain People (1969), Brian's Song (1971, TV movie), The Godfather (1972), - for which he earned his only Oscar nomination, - Slither (1973), The Gambler (1974), Funny Lady (1975), Rollerball (1975), Silent Movie (1976), Hide in Plain Sight (1980), - the only film he also directed, - Thief (1981), Misery (1990), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), Bottle Rocket (1996), Eraser (1996), Dogville (2003), Elf (2003), Las Vegas (2003-07), Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) and many more. Caan passed away at age 82. R.I.P.

Jean-Louis Trintignant has died

Born in Vaucluse, France, Trintignant's theatrical debut as an actor was in If All the Guys in the World... (1955). Later credits include ...And God Created Woman (1956), The Seven Deadly Sins (1961), Inferno (1964), A Man and A Woman (1966), My Love, My Love (1967), A Man to Kill (1967), The Great Silence (1968), Z (1969), The Assassination (1972), Three Colors: Red (1994), Amour (2012), Happy End (2017) and many more. He also wrote and directed two films in the 1970s. Trintignant passed away at age 91. R.I.P.

Ray Liotta has died

Adopted from an orphenage at a young age, Liotta got hooked on acting in high school. He had various TV credits in the late 1970s and early 80s, with his film debut in The Lonely Lady (1983). Later credits include Something Wild (1986), Field of Dreams (1989), Goodfellas (1990), Cop Land (1997), Hannibal (2001), Blow (2001), Narc (2002), John Q (2002), Identity (2003), Observe and Report (2009), Youth in Revolt (2009), The Details (2011), Killing THem Softly (2012), The Place Beyond the Pines (2012), Shades of Blue (2016-18), The Simpsons (2018, TV-series), Marriage Story (2019), The Many Saints of Newark (2021), Black Bird (2022, TV-series) and many more. Liotta passed away at age 67 in his sleep while on production in the Dominican Republic. R.I.P.

Philip Baker Hall has died

Born in Ohio, Hall didn't start acting until he was 30. His long list of credits include Zabriskie Point (1970), Miami Vice (1987, TV-series), Midnight Run (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Cheers (1993, TV-series), Hard Eight (1996), The Rock (1996), Air Force One (1997), Boogie Nights (1997), Seinfeld (1991-98), Rush Hour (1998), The Insider (1999), Magnolia (1999), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Bruce Almighty (2003), Dogville (2003), The Zodiac (2005), Zodiac (2007), Curb Your Enthusiasm (2004-09), Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011), Modern Family (2011-12) and many more. Hall passed away at age 90. R.I.P.

William Hurt has passed away

Born in Washington D.C., Hurt's first film role was the lead in Altered States (1980). Later credits include Body Heat (1981), The Big Chill (1983), Gorky Park (1983), Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985), for which he earned his only Oscar as Best Actor; Chilrdren of a Lesser God (1986), for which he was also Oscar-nominated; Broadcast News (1987), for which he was again Oscar-nominated; Smoke (1995), A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), A History of Violence (2005), for which he was again Oscar-nominated; The Good Shepherd (2006), Into the Wild (2007), Robin Hood (2010) and many more. Hurt passed away at age 71. R.I.P.

Ivan Reitman has passed away

Born in Chechoslovakia, now Slovakia, Reitman's family fled the Soviet regime to Austria, then Toronto, when he was 4 years old. Reitman broke into movies as a director with Foxy Lady (1971). Later credits include Cannibal Girls (1973), Meatballs (1979), Stripes (1981), Ghostbusters (1984), Twins (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), Kindergarten Cop (1990), Junior (1994), Father's Day (1997), Evolution (1998), No Strings Attached (2011), Draft Day (2014) and more. Reitman's son Jason Reitman is also a great filmmaker. Reitman passed away at age 75. R.I.P.

Film Excess - Free Ukraine - Stop Putin - End the war NOW!!

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8/25/2017

The Informant! (2009) - Soderbergh and Damon's terrific true-crime dramedy

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