Saw The Informant!, a sort-of comedy about Mark Whitacre, a man who works at a corn processing plant which is struggling to get their enzyme ratios up to par. Suddenly, the cause becomes clear: a saboteur is active in the company, spiking the enzymes, a Japanese rival company is calling and leaving threatening messages. The FBI is contacted and Mark reveals that actually there was no Japanese phone calls, but there was legal shenanigans being played at his company. So begins the incredibly twisty (but apparently true) story of Mark Whitacre.
The film is darkly humorous and absurd but is mostly a sort of thriller or mystery. Throughout the film Mark acts like an idiot kid in a candy shop, living out (albeit ineptly) one of his Tom Clancy books or complicated legal thrillers. He gawps directly into the FBI's hidden cameras but also smoothly moves someone who was blocking the view. It's acted in a very restrained but subtly funny way. At one point there's a meeting of lawyers and one of them is clearly spinning bullshit. The opposing lawyers stare blankly ahead, blinking as they weather the storm. There's no attention drawn to these micro-jokes which of course is what makes them funny. We know exactly what these lawyers are feeling and they're just staring straight ahead.
The film is shot in a very staid, standard way. There's additional goofy music added over the action and funky 60s-style titles that tell us where and when the action is taking place. There are times when this forced jollity seems annoying as the film moves around yet another twist, but it keeps things light and tips us off that, yes, this is absurd and if you feel inclined to laugh, that's probably appropriate. It is not however, for the most part, very funny. There is a form of humor added but it's icing on the bizarre cake of the protagonist's adventures. These little gestures are to make it survive repeat viewings. It's such a strange story.
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