The Informant! (2009)

The critic finds the lively dark comedy thoroughly entertaining, praising the voiceover that reveals the protagonist's bizarre mental babble alongside the true story's mix of wry laughs and shock.

The critic finds the film a fascinating human comedy that peels back layers of deception in the true story of a corporate whistleblower. Matt Damon's performance is highlighted as deceptively effective in portraying an unreliable narrator.

Soderbergh’s flippant corporate caper is a self-satisfied madcap bauble whose subtextual delights are unlocked by its exclamation mark and Damon’s supremely nuanced performance plumbing narcissism and psychosis. The director and writer focus on a credible psychological portrait rather than the corporate dealings themselves.

The critic sees the movie as a return to form for Soderbergh, with Damon delivering a voluble, endearing performance as the unreliable informant. It effectively subverts expectations through its layered deceptions and emotional charge.

The film filters whistleblowing intrigue through duplicitous recklessness and plays out in conference rooms with a giddy 1960s caper pace; it is more fun than any film about industrial bio-chemistry has any right to be.

Soderbergh takes a lighter, wry approach to the whistleblower story, building the film around Matt Damon's brilliant, disguised performance as the deluded informant. It is amusing rather than hilarious and feels less substantial than similar films but succeeds in establishing Damon as a character actor.

Soderbergh's film presents a perplexing, bumbling whistleblower whose fabulism strains the true story of corporate corruption. The critic highlights Damon's strained boyishness and the film's increasingly difficult-to-read tone, along with the obtrusive score and strong supporting cast.

The film is viewed as a quirky, self-amusing exercise by Soderbergh that fails to engage broader audiences, with the voice-over stream of consciousness proving uninteresting. Damon's effort is noted but the overall concept lacks appeal.

The critic finds the film a strained comedy that overplays its wackiness with an exclamation mark and jazzy score; the strange true story would have worked better told straighter, as in an Alexander Payne film.

Soderbergh turns the true story into an uneven semi-comedy that can’t quite decide its tone, with the best moments intensely dramatic despite a razzle-dazzle score. An energetic Matt Damon performance helps, but the film is too clever by half for mainstream audiences and unlikely to last awards season.

The film is an affectless, self-annihilating comedy-character study that reflects its hero's narcissistic worldview more than delivering laughs or drama. Matt Damon's nuanced, high-wire central performance as the delusional Whitacre is singled out as perfectly convincing and unforgettable.

The critic finds Soderbergh's larky comedic mode sterile and Damon’s central performance damaging, concluding that the audience ends up duped by the fabulist’s ruses.

The critic views the film as a comedy about a compulsive liar and whistleblower but finds the tone desperate and at war with itself, questioning exactly which lies are meant to be funny.

The film is a facetious and half-baked comedy about corporate crime that fails to land either as full comedy or thriller. Soderbergh's offhand treatment prevents the story from having emotional impact despite some provocative points about price manipulation.

The film is praised as a masterwork of narrative compression that treats corporate malfeasance as a collective tragedy best met with laughter. Soderbergh's direction and the zany score are singled out for making the oddball true story compelling.

The critic finds the film delightful and witty, carried with the lightness of Soderbergh's Ocean's movies despite its heavy theme about the usefulness and abuse of lies. They single out Matt Damon's likable, versatile performance as the standout element that makes the story work.

Soderbergh turns the corporate scandal story into an offbeat comedy showcase for Damon's deluded, larger-than-life Whitacre, complete with wandering voiceover and an eclectic cast. The film is fantastically well made and entertaining but lacks dramatic tension and a character to root for.

Damon gives an endearing, funny performance as the insecure, lying whistleblower in this glib true-life comedy thriller, with the voiceover revealing his attention deficit and hero fantasies. The film milks laughs from his delusions but remains curious rather than insightful about his compulsive behaviour and leaves viewers less informed.

Soderbergh crafts an engaging, intelligent and very funny comedy-thriller that plays with conspiracy thriller conventions. Damon delivers a superb, nuanced performance as the self-righteous, unreliable whistleblower whose eccentricities and lies complicate the FBI investigation.