'The Informant!'

'The Informant!' (R) ***

Writer: Scott Z. Burns based on the book "The Informant (A True Story)" by Kurt Eichenwald
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Starring: Matt Damon, Scott Bakula, Joel McHale, Melanie Lynskey, Tom Wilson, Candy Clark

Steven Soderbergh has had an eclectic and rewarding career as a filmmaker and storyteller and he has found another different and quirky story here in "The Informant!" Matt Damon has also had various great roles in his career but this is his most different character and one of his best performances. He has put on a few pounds, put on some nerdy looking glasses and sports a weird head of hair as Mark Whitacre. It is quite different from the Jason Bourne character who was a killing machine. Mark Whitacre is just delusional, a pathological liar and a misguided loser. This is a very light but entertaining movie. This is not one of Soderbergh's deepest films and it isn't supposed to be. This is more along the lines of the Oceans movies with an offbeat sense of humor and great lines of dialogue which is rapid fire. This is an adult movie where the words are what is powerful and effective not actions. This could have been made in the 70's and have been a very good companion piece to some of the wonderfully written comedies of that period. One of the masterstrokes of this movie is the narration of the Whitacre character inside his head. Most of Damon's Oscar caliber performance shows it's greatness during this inner narration as he says things totally outrageous inside is head which in no way relates to what is going on outside his head. Damon really disappears in this role giving us a very strange and delusional man and he is captivating. Soderbergh shoots this like a 70's film and there is great support by Scott Bakula and Joel McHale as FBI agents who don't quite know how to figure Whitacre out. I could have done without the 70's game show music by Marvin Hamlish though. This is a funny and entertaining movie that is light and the best part of it are the performance by Damon and the sharp and funny dialogue. Steven Soderbergh makes this seem effortless and he has given us another winner,