Sunday, September 27, 2009
HYSTERICAL AND SAD
I absolutely loved Steven Soderbergh's The Informant! (A). The film is like an onion, and for me, will probably prove to be extremely rewarding upon multiple viewings. The screenplay by Scott Z. Burns is brilliant in many respects, and Matt Damon delivers what's probably the best (and my favorite) performance of the year so far. I'll have a full review soon, but this is a deceptive and tricky and sophisticated black comedy that's going to confound some viewers and delight others. Getting old-school Marvin Hamlisch to score the film (sometimes with a freaking kazoo!) is a typical Soderbergh move; this director continues to surprise with his bold filmmaking decisions. The Informant! is an extremely funny movie but in a very ironic, irreverent way; it's also completely terrifying in that you're basically watching a schizophrenic (yet genius) person flush their entire life down the toilet. Comparison's to Michael Mann's The Insider are appropriate but not entirely accurate. Sure, the landscape is big business and both films feature "whistle blowers" as their protagonists, but The Informant! struts its stuff as a devilish, Coen-esque black comedy, where as Mann's masterpiece was a journalism thriller on par with the likes of All the President's Men. In any event, The Informant! is yet another instance of Soderbergh taking wild creative chances, and having those chances paying off like gangbusters. Don't let this movie sneak by you.
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4 comments:
Pretty much agree here, but I think I'd refer to it as "The Insider" by way of Wes Anderson. BUT you're absolutely spot-on: "The Informant!" may walk and talk like a total romp, but my God, there are so many layers to this film and things happening below the surface. And the final fifteen minutes in particular were searing and spectacular in their own way. It's one film that will deepen with more and more viewings. Right now, if you've seen my most recent 2009 rundown, it has escaped my top ten, but that will definitely change over time. I pretty much know that it's a buyer for my mom and dad; they adored it when we saw it opening night. It'll be one I watch over and over. It's got some kind of incredible entertainment value.
The only thing I'd disagree with (if you can call it a disagreement at all) is your assessment of Damon's performance as the best of the year that brought us Sharlto Copley's magnificent, Oscar-worthy breakthrough in "District 9." Damon's performance is in the echelon of the year for me, definitely, Oscar-worthy even, so I can't complain, but I also can't consciously call Damon better than Copley.
I've seen it twice and I can definitely say that it holds up to multiple viewings.
That scene at the end where Whitacre (Damon) is trying to talk his way out of the doctor's letter (with the overlapping dialogue) is brilliantly strange.
I hope he gets a well-deserved Oscar nod, it's amazing how much of his work gets no love ("Talented Mr. Ripley", "The Departed", etc.)
And by the way, "Surrogates" is not terrible, but it's so dispensable and redundant (coming on the heels of I, Robot and countless other sci-fi cautionaries).
To Joel: don't get Sharlto Copley love -- he was fine, but tap the breaks...
Glad you loved it, Chase. I think it's just fantastic and the more I think about it, the better it gets. Can't wait until it hits Blu Ray.
And Joel -- I'm all about Copley and District 9 in general (as you know). But Damon truly went above and beyond; he became another person so fully, so crazily, that I was able to forget that it was "Matt Damon" and just become immersed in the character.
Not discrediting Copley by any stretch though -- it's a huge performance and a total revelation. I wonder if he really will do Carnahan's A-Team movie...
If I had any say, both Damon and Copley would be up for Oscar noms...but something tells me it's not gonna happen...
Chase: I personally thought that Copley was revelatory, but to each his own, right? lol.
Nick: They both went above and beyond, in my opinion. Of the obvious nominees-to-be, Damon should win. If Copley somehow gets in, he'll take it, imo. That's all I'm saying. Of the Oscar-bait performances, Damon's will be damn near impossible to beat.
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