The release of any movie by Steven Soderbergh, unless it contains “Ocean’s” in the title, is sure to occasion comments by journalists on the variety of the director’s work. His body of work is immensely varied, and he is one of the few current directors to deserve the title of auteur. Unfortunately, his constantly shifting focus means more often than not he fails at whatever currently untried genre or style he attempts. The Informant! feels somewhat like Soderbergh was going for one of the Coen brothers’ nonviolent films. (I think the most accurate division of their work is into violent and nonviolent, though the thematically similar Burn After Reading blurred the line somewhat) Since he can’t do it as well as they can, Soderbergh’s newest offering seems like a pale reflection, or even a student film attempting to recreate a masterpiece without a true understanding of what made it a masterpiece.

The Informant! is Mark Whitacre, played to enthusiastically bipolar perfection by Matt Damon. Whitacre is the youngest VP in his company’s history, but he has discovered an international price-fixing conspiracy. He tells the FBI about it before he realizes that it likely means the end of his career, his sports cars, and his mansion with the horse stables still under construction. Whitacre is a complete buffoon, except when he is required to be otherwise by the script, and the jokes – although they are occasionally hilarious – all revolve around his apparent inability to comprehend the reality of the situation in which he has put himself. Damon keeps up a blinkered, hyperactive monologue throughout the film as well, but the film is ambiguous as to whether the audience should feel any sympathy for the man who remains the target of mockery even as he descends further into madness. I found myself disturbed by the film’s apparent lack of care for Whitacre as a human being – though the other characters occasionally suggest he should be pitied, every other cinematic element conspires to keep him unsympathetic.

Also problematic is that Damon is the only realized character in the film. The rest of the cast is given little to work with, especially since Damon’s interior monologues repeatedly drown out their conversations, effectively conveying his neurosis but destroying any possibility of the audience developing an attachment to anyone else. Perhaps that is why Soderbergh chose to populate even the most minor roles with a long list of forgotten or C-list stars, but it only serves as another distraction. (This may also be another attempt to copy the Coens, but their minor characters are always fascinating.) For those interested, however, the following make appearances: Scott Bakula, of Quantum Leap fame; Joel McHale, from Talk Soup and the best new primetime comedy, Community; Melanie Lynskey, whose last decent role was probably her first, in the absolutely enthralling Heavenly Creatures; Thomas F. Wilson, or Biff from Back to the Future; Tony Hale, Buster from Arrested Development; Patton Oswalt, King of Queens and Big Fan; Scott Adsit, 30 Rock; and at least half a dozen more. Despite all the talent on display, not a single one presents a compelling character – all are merely foils to Damon’s Whitacre.

The Informant! is a movie of ones – one character, one style, one mood, one joke, one-note. The first time you hear the Austin-Powers-like music or see the bubbled 60’s spy font proclaiming “Decatur, IL, 1992,” it’s a creative parody of Whitacre, who fancies himself 0014 – “twice as smart as James Bond.” But the trick’s repetition immediately becomes wearying, and despite Damon’s great performance and sporadic flashes of humor, so does the film.

Wide Release