(2009) Initially I had no intention of seeing this movie (after all it's not one of The Bourne Identity sequels), but since I received a free pass to the theater, I decided to watch it instead of the other features. (Well, to be honest, I should add that Steven Soderbergh - Steve's a personal acquaintance - called, asking me as a personal favor to review his picture.)

The story begins in Decatur, Illinois, in October 1992 at ADM's headquarters (Archer Daniels Midland, an agricultural-conglomerate hog, which in my estimation ranks right up there with Haliburton and Enron as an example of corporate malfeasance, but just try not consuming something ADM produces) where Vice President Mark Whitacre (Matt Damon) - a nutritional bio-chemist in his mid-30s, just three years with the company, in charge of the biochemical-products division making the feed-additive lysine, already a favorite of chairman Dwayne Andreas (Tom Smothers) and a possible successor to the company's president - becomes an FBI informant, agreeing to be wired and taping dozens of incriminating sessions.

At the time ADM and its Japanese rivals were conspiring to fix prices worldwide: "The competitor is our friend, and the customer is our enemy," says Terry Wilson (Rick Overton). However, the whistleblower, father of two adopted boys (repeatedly referring to himself as an orphan, after his mother and father were killed in an automobile accident, raised by a wealthy owner of an amusement park, though his actual parents are astonished when asked about their son), envisioning himself as the hero of this drama, also embezzles millions of dollars from the company, playing FBI Special Agent Brian Shepard (Scott Bakula), to whom he voluntarily revealed the price-fixing scheme because it offended his sense of right and wrong; ADM executives, such as Vice Chairman Mick Andreas (Tom Papa) and Mark Cheviron (Tom Wilson); and his own lawyers off each other in hopes of retaining his elevated status in the company, imagining himself, as he tells his wife Ginger (Melanie Lynskey), the lone individual still standing among the criminal cadavers of his colleagues and ready to lead the company.

Screenwriter Scott Z. Burns based his script on Kurt Eichenwald's book. As I watched the events unfold, I recalled reading about ADM's corrupt practices almost 15 years ago (while I was residing and working overseas) and being outraged at the light sentencing of Mick Andreas and his father Dwayne when compared with the rough treatment Mark Whitacre received (not mentioned in the film was his attempted suicide in 1995, though that might also have been staged with his gardener's help) after bringing to light the underhanded dealings within ADM.

In the August 28, 1995 issue of Time, John Greenwald and James L. Graff reported that "a series of odd, unrelated events rapidly transformed Whitacre into an FBI informer. Whitacre told FORTUNE that the FBI showed up at ADM's door at the behest of Dwayne Andreas, but not in search of price fixing. The agency was called in because Andreas suspected that a saboteur was contaminating batches of lysine in ADM's fermenting process. Whitacre says agents soon questioned him about the problem and that he was instructed by Mick Andreas to lie about a few details, including which phone line he used to conduct business from home. The younger Andreas apparently wanted to be sure Whitacre could continue to discuss lysine prices undetected."

Admittedly some of my comments above are fabrications, but you can take my word that the larger picture I've presented is a faithful rendition of what appeared on the screen.

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in video and/or DVD format, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

Copyright © 2009 Patrick Ivers. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.

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