The Informant!

Steven Soderbergh’s latest shrewdly tells the true story of a corporate whistleblower who does a miserable yet strangely effective job of helping the FBI investigate an international price-fixing scheme. Soderbergh wants to be more humorous than dramatic with his depiction of the actual crime that occurred in the ’90s. Thanks to an understated and hilarious performance by Matt Damon, he succeeds. Damon put on 30 to play Mark Whitacre and excels with some hilarious narration. Whitacre eventually went to prison for some crimes of his own committed while supposedly helping the FBI expose his co-workers. Soderbergh mines the ridiculous story for nasty laughs, and it’s the right move. Mark Whitacre was a manipulative, sneaky, smug son of a bitch. Thanks to Damon, he’s a highly entertaining tragicomic figure here.