Blu-ray Movie Reviews

What was Mark Whitacre thinking? A rising star at agri-industry giant Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Whitacre suddenly turns whistleblower. Even as he exposes his company's multi-national price-fixing conspiracy to the FBI, Whitacre envisions himself being hailed as a hero of the common man and handed a promotion. But before all that can happen, the FBI needs evidence, so Whitacre eagerly agrees to wear a wire and carry a hidden tape recorder in his briefcase, imagining himself as a kind of de facto secret agent. Unfortunately for the FBI, their lead witness hasn't been quite so forthcoming about helping himself to the corporate coffers. Whitacre's ever-changing account frustrates the agents and threatens the case against ADM as it becomes almost impossible to decipher what is real and what is the product of Whitacre's active imagination.

Stories like this are always surprising. The fact that it’s true makes it almost painful! Matt Damon plays a VP who gets caught up in one of the most hilarious circles of lies as he turns whistleblower on his company for price fixing. But as the case unravels, so do his claims turning the tables on what looks like a closed book case for the FBI. Soderbergh does a great job balancing the humor of the situation with the disturbing look at a price fixing company and its even more disturbed employee. While it didn’t turn out to be the comedic piece that I gathered from the trailers, it still ends up a pretty fun ride.

The Informant has a rather difficult video presentation to judge. The film is intentionally stylized, with overblown contrast and a warmer palette than most films we see on Blu-ray. But there are other issues here. I noticed more compression artifacts than I’m used to seeing for the format, with obvious blocking in a lot of backgrounds. I also saw some aliasing artifacts that are typically a byproduct of animated features. Depending on how this was filmed it may be a byproduct of the post production efforts or the camera system. While I didn’t find these overly distracting, it was more than I would expect from a day and date new release title. The audio side was more predictable and on par with what I would expect from this type of film. The soundtrack is largely dialogue driven and the tonal balance is solid. Imaging across the mains is solid and the surrounds do add a touch of ambiance to the track.

Extras include some deleted scenes and a feature commentary with the director and screenwriter. This release also features the DVD of the film and a portable copy for your iPod or computer.

Matt Damon did a great job with this part and ultimately the film is both funny and disturbing. I was unimpressed with the video presentation though leaving me with a rental recommendation at best.