The film is fun and frantic, but by no means perfect.

So, so Soderbergh, The Informant! is Matt Damon’s best work yet, the first time I’ve been able to get past his pug-nosed boyishness. Even as Jason Bourne, Damon struck me as a fresh young kid. Now he’s a childishly exuberant adult dealing with some very mature issues, and it feels like he’s finally grown up. Leonardo DiCaprio could really use a role like this.

The Informant! is based on the book of the same name by Kurt Eichenwald, which tells the tale of blithely self-righteous Mark Whitacre blowing the whistle on his own, ultra-successful agri-business company for international price-fixing. The problem is, this well educated family man isn’t exactly forthcoming about his own nefarious pocket-lining as he helps the FBI stage a two-year investigation. The film follows the gradual unraveling of the bad-toupee wearing white-collar criminal, and his unmitigated gall in putting an entire industry and government agency through the wringer while embezzling millions.

The film is fun and frantic, but by no means perfect. Marvin Hamlisch has taken up composing again and written a bouncy, crazy 60’s score that would have been a great had the film taken place during that era. But alas, the action all happens in the 90’s, and the music just doesn’t play well. And Scott Z. Burns’ script is extremely hard to follow--the twists are just not punctuated strongly enough to give you a good idea of what’s going on. Unfortunately, the confusion is drawn out over a clunky 108 minutes, which feels more like 180. Oddly enough, however, my bewilderment made me want to see the film again. Soderbergh always has that effect on me.

Most of the actors, aside from Damon, are guys you’ve seen and enjoyed in a million TV episodes, but can’t quite identify, which is perfect for their non-descript, corporate and government images. Scott Bakula as the long suffering FBI Special Agent Brian Shepherd, and The Soup’s Jole McHale as FBI Special Agent Bob Herndon give wonderfully understated performances. But this is definitely Matt Damon’s show, from start to finish, and despite it’s flaws, he’s a pleasure to watch.