The Informant! (2009)
Biography, Comedy, Crime |.
The Informant! is a American biographical-crime comedy film directed by Steven Soderbergh. Written by Scott Z. Burns, the film stars Matt Damon as the titular informant named Mark Whitacre, as well as Scott Bakula, Joel McHale and Melanie Lynskey. It depicts Whitacre’s involvement as a whistle blower in the lysine price-fixing conspiracy of the mid-1990s, based on the 2000 nonfiction book The Informant, by journalist Kurt Eichenwald.
Released on September 18, 2009, The Informant! received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise for Matt Damon’s performance and the film’s comedic yet ironic tone, although the latter has also been a point of criticism from other critics.
Mark Whitacre, a rising star at the Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) office in Decatur, Illinois, during the early 1990s, blows the whistle on the company’s price-fixing tactics at the urging of his wife Ginger.
One night in November 1992, Whitacre confesses to FBI special agent Brian Shepard that ADM executives—including Whitacre himself—had routinely met with competitors to fix the price of lysine, an additive used in the commercial livestock industry. Whitacre secretly gathers hundreds of hours of video and audio over several years to present to the FBI. He assists in gathering evidence by clandestinely taping the company’s activity in business meetings at various locations around the globe such as Tokyo, Paris, Mexico City, and Hong Kong, eventually collecting enough evidence of collaboration and conspiracy to warrant a raid of ADM.
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Writers: Scott Z. Burns (screenplay), Kurt Eichenwald (book)
Stars: Matt Damon, Tony Hale, Patton Oswalt, Joel McHale, Melanie Lynskey, Scott Bakula, Tom Papa
►Cast:
| Matt Damon | … | Mark Whitacre |
| Lucas McHugh Carroll | … | Alexander Whitacre (as Lucas Carroll) |
| Eddie Jemison | … | Kirk Schmidt |
| Rusty Schwimmer | … | Liz Taylor |
| Craig Ricci Shaynak | … | Discouraged Foreman |
| Tom Papa | … | Mick Andreas |
| Rick Overton | … | Terry Wilson |
| Melanie Lynskey | … | Ginger Whitacre |
| Thomas F. Wilson | … | Mark Cheviron (as Tom Wilson) |
| Scott Bakula | … | FBI Special Agent Brian Shepard |
| Scott Adsit | … | Sid Hulse |
| Ann Dowd | … | FBI Special Agent Kate Medford |
| Allan Havey | … | FBI Special Agent Dean Paisley |
| Howie Johnson | … | Rusty Williams |
| Joel McHale | … | FBI Special Agent Bob Herndon |
| Nick Craig | … | Kid at Pool #1 |
| Cody Puckett | … | Kid at Pool #2 |
| Andrew Daly | … | Marty Allison |
| David Campbell | … | Budweiser Client Representative |
| Carolyn R. Feltner | … | Budweiser Receptionist |
| J.P. Gillain | … | Zurich Bank Security Officer |
| Elena Eustache | … | Zurich Bank Receptionist |
| John Hans Tester | … | Peter Dreyer (as Hans Tester) |
| Ludger Pistor | … | Reinhard Richter |
| Rome Kanda | … | Hirokazu Ikeda |
| Yoshio Be | … | Kazutoshi Yamada |
| Raymond Ma | … | Kanji Mimoto |
| Hervé Deschamps | … | Philippe Rollier |
| Pascal Ifri | … | Alain Crouy |
| Ann Cusack | … | Robin Mann |
| Dann Seki | … | Joon Mo Suh |
| Jayden Lund | … | James Mutchnik |
| Chic Daniel | … | FBI Agent at Raid |
| Joe Chrest | … | Visiting Client |
| J.D. Mathein | … | Phone Agent |
| William Marsh | … | FBI Special Agent Ken Temples |
| Tom Smothers | … | Dwayne Andreas |
| Clancy Brown | … | Aubrey Daniel |
| Bob Zany | … | John Dowd |
| Tony Hale | … | James Epstein |
| Richard Steven Horvitz | … | Bob Zaideman (as Richard Horvitz) |
| Tara Barrett | … | Reporter #1 |
| Tim Cain | … | Reporter #2 |
| Ken Frye | … | Reporter #3 |
| Huey Freeman | … | Reporter #4 |
| Brian Gallivan | … | Ron Henkoff |
| Daniel Hagen | … | Scott Roberts |
| Patton Oswalt | … | Ed Herbst |
| Samantha Albert | … | Mary Spearing |
| Jimmy Brogan | … | Dr. Derek Miller |
| Paul F. Tompkins | … | FBI Special Agent Anthony D’Angelo |
| Adam Paul | … | FBI Special Agent Michael Bassett |
| Wayne Pére | … | Sheldon Zenner (as Wayne Péré) |
| Scott England | … | Local News Anchor (as Scot England) |
| Joshua Funk | … | FBI Special Agent Robert Grant |
| Candy Clark | … | Mark Whitacre’s Mother |
| Frank Welker | … | Mark Whitacre’s Father |
| Larry Clarke | … | Whitacre’s Second Attorney |
| Dick Smothers | … | Judge Harold Baker |
| Steve Seagren | … | Correctional Officer |
| Sage Adams | … | Jason Ripley |
| Roy Allen III | … | Office Manager |
| Rj Buckler | … | Extra holding boom pole in crowd of reporters |
| Corey Case | … | Reporter |
| Emma Chandler | … | Mick Andreas’ Assistant |
| Dona Ellis | … | Bartender |
| Nichole Fischer | … | Patron in airport |
| Gene Fojtik | … | Lawyer |
| James Gianoulakis | … | Airport Traveler |
| Christopher Guetig | … | Office Clerk |
| Joe Hammerstone | … | Airport Restaurant Patron |
| Tabby Hanson | … | Sunt / Actress ‘2009’ |
| Troy Hayes | … | New Home Owner |
| Richard Hoffman Jr. | … | Payroll |
| Bill Ibrahim | … | Attorney on EL |
| Frederick Keeve | … | Business Executive |
| Jordan Kirkwood | … | European Executive |
| BJ Lange | … | Airline Passenger |
| Dan Latham | … | CTA Passenger |
| Ted LeBlang | … | Country Club Dinner Guest |
| Zera Lynd | … | Restaurant Patron |
| Allen Marsh | … | Airport Restaurant Patron |
| Joseph Mazurk | … | Federal Plaza Lawyer |
| Cameron Potter | … | Businessman |
| Mallory Scott | … | Business Traveler |
| Alan Seabock | … | Hotel guest |
| Gary Sedlock | … | Movie Goer |
| Malik Simmons | … | Restaurant Patron |
| E.J. Snyder | … | Golfer |
| Jaxon Stanford | … | Businessman Walking Thru Airport |
| Giota Trakas | … | Jogger |
| Klemens Niklaus Trenkle | … | Biker |
| Jani Vorwerk | … | Waitress |
| Joji Yoshida | … | Japanese Businessman |
| Elizabeth Zephyrine | … | Sweater Girl |
Sources: imdb & wikipedia