Rent It!
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Stars: Matt Damon, Melanie Lynskey, Scott Bakula, Joel McHale
About: Based on the nonfiction book The Informant, which describes Mark Whitacre’s involvement in a price-fixing conspiracy in the 1990s, The Informant! has Matt Damon suiting up to play the Illinois biochemist-turned-businessman. When the FBI starts looking into Whitacre’s employer, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Whitacre’s wife-played by Melanie Lynskey-forces him to divulge the company’s price-fixing business. This begins Whitacre’s adventure of wire tapping, recording audio and secret video footage to use as evidence against the company, who price-fix lysine, an additive used in everyday products. Remarkably-and hilariously acted by Damon-Whitacre believes that when the FBI tells ADM executives of his actions, the ordeal will blow over and he will continue working his way up in the company. But what is even more surprising than his commitment to climbing ADM’s corporate ladder is the secret Whitacre is hiding from the FBI, which certainly takes the story in a whole new direction.
Rent if you like: Up in the Air, Thank You for Smoking and/or The Insider