Soderbergh’s lighting and Damon’s performance put this one over the top and into the archives
It’s great to see the comedic talents of Damon (as we would again in the martian in 2015)- I mean he’s funny in parts in many of his films (good will hunting and the departed come to mind) but not nearly as much as some of the rambling voice-over musings here- such a web liar—he also put on 30lbs reportedly for this role
Soderbergh’s achievement in lighting (picture above is Exhibit A) is even more of an achievement since the film is set, largely, in suburban Illinois in the 1990’s…
Solid character study- reminiscent of 2003’s shattered glass and sort of a half-way coen brother film con-man who can’t help but get in his own way
It’s a bold choice on the music- very divisive—I can’t say I’m a big fan- it’s very 1970’s (same composer did some roger moore bond films, the way we were) and I don’t fully understand the formal connection with the material
Some other hits from the voice over are “I could see us fishing or whatever” and “what a good listener”
Wonderful night lighting in a Chinese restaurant
Again- the lighting isn’t just light- it’s part of the mise-en-scene and is a physical structure and part of the background décor in so many scenes
Recommend but not near the top 10 of 2009—certainly “lesser” works in the canon of both soderbergh and damon
[…] The Informant! – Soderbergh […]