Saw this movie over the weekend. Had no huge expectations. Generally like Matt Damon and tend to like “small/quirky” comedies. And had followed this case when it happened. But I can’t remember a film that left me more “Meh” than this one.
I guess the main reason was that I couldn’t figure out what the hell was going on! All right, Matt Damon’s character was pretty much lying about everything to everyone. But that was about all I could figure. I couldn’t figure out why he started cooperating with the FBI. Or how much ADM was doing wrong. Or how he was stealing from ADM. Or how complicit his wife was. So basically all I was left with was this one guy lying about everything. And was he truly clueless about his future with ADM, or was that yet another layer of his scam? I guess I can imagine a film-maker intending just to portray such an unclear situation, but I guess I personally prefer at least some more plot underpinning movies I watch.
And I found the titles/music quite distracting. They were more 70s-ish than 90s. And it seemed to trivialize whatever was happening.
A lot of things were “smile” funny. Especially his internal musings. But lots of people were laughing out loud. Which I found confusing. Because NOTHING about this movie was laugh-out-loud funny.
I guess MD did a great job, but that alone was not ebough for me to care about this movie. Anyone else see it? Feel the same or differently than me?
I enjoyed it. It’s not an Oscar movie, but it was cute and quirky and I thought it had some good laughs. MD was excellent.
As far as what was going on – yeah, it was hard to figure out because of all the lying. I came away with the impression that the exact nature of the crimes committed was less important than watching this man spin one lie after another until no one knew what was going on, even after he had been exposed. But here’s my best guess at what happened:
[spoiler] First, the mole/sabotage with the virus that gets the FBI involved: I think that was Damon’s character running a blackmail scheme. He tells his bosses that the Japanese are demanding $10 Mil, but freaks out when they get the FBI involved. Notice that once the FBI is watching he says the calls stop cold turkey.
I think he exposes the ADM price fixing because he really thinks it will clear out the upper ranks of the company and put him in line to run the place. But at the same time, he has this embezzlement scheme(s) going on that he’s trying to hide from them, so he’s constantly changing his story and making up lies to cover for himself. Even after he’s caught, he can’t stop lying about his involvement (like in the last scene when he claims to have stolen $11.5M instead of $9.5M. I thought the way that the amount he stole kept going up every time it was mentioned was really funny, too. [/spoiler]
I saw it on Saturday with my mom and we both enjoyed it. I wasn’t really familiar with the case, so when all the lies started coming to light, I was suprised. I thought the tone, including the inappropriately cheesy music (Marvin Hamlisch!) raised it above what could have been just a run-of-the-mill story of corporate malfeasance.
I laughed out loud when Matt Damon unexpectedly adjusted his toupee in the middle of a meeting with the FBI agents. I knew it was a toupee all along, but for some reason that got me. I also laughed when Dick Smothers turned up as the judge, which wouldn’t have been half as funny if his brother Tom hadn’t already appeared as an ADM exec.
Oh, I forgot to mention the music and titles. Very 70-ish. But I liked them. The movie could easily have been a corporate thriller with some comedic moments (as the book was, I’m told); but instead it became more of a true comedy. The FBI agents (esp. Scott Bakula) were great straight men.
Later in the film, during one of his confessions, Damon’s character said he made up the blackmail story in order to buy himself some time to fix a production issue at the plant.
I haven’t seen the film, but this morning I listened to the updated This American Life episode that inspired the screenwriter when he originally heard them broadcast it back in 2000. I think you’re pretty much on with your guesses, as the host, Ira Glass, said that the movie was really accurate in addition to being funny.
[spoiler]Edit" It was mentioned that there was an issue at the plant with production, but I don’t know if it was the only reason he was claiming sabotage/trying to extort money.
He told the FBI agent about the price fixing because, he claimed, his wife knew something about what was going on and was pushing him to talk, even trying to get the agent to come back in the house so she or he could talk to the agent. So he caved and went out to tell about the price fixing himself because otherwise she would have. But once the embezzlement came out at the end, that may have been the whole reason he exposed the price fixing - maybe he figured that with no real saboteur, the FBI would keep snooping around and turn up his own misdeeds, so he tossed his company and foreign companies under the bus to try to save himself.[/spoiler]
If you’re interested in the real-life story, I think it’s worth a listen - you can hear it online via that link or through iTunes’ podcast selections. It features interviews with the FBI agents, the book’s writer, and Whitacre himself.
The cheesy music and interminably discursive internal monologue were torture to me. They felt like self-conscious film-school tricks brought in to liven up a dry story.
Having read the original Eichenwald book many years ago and having a perverse fascination with the case, I really enjoyed the movie. And not just because I have a totally heterosexual man-crush on Matt Damon.
As for my understanding about what happened:
There may or may not have actually been a virus in the plant. It could have been a story Mark made up to buy time fixing the process. Or it could he himself could have sabotaged the process so he could be a hero. The Japanese extortionist, however, was definitely fake, and may have actually been one of Mark’s embezzlement schemes. (The “Japanese guy” being an account that Mark owned overseas.)
When ADM called the FBI, they told Mark what to say to the FBI guys ensure that ADM itself wasn’t implicated in any extortion scheme.
When the FBI goes to Mark’s house to tap his phone, his wife makes him tell them about ADM’s price fixing, and this is where he also says that he made up the extortion scheme.
Mark puts on the wire and gets evidence of the price fixing; ADM’s own investigation unveils Mark’s embezzlement when they start looking at his phony invoices.
Ah neat, this wasn’t covered in detail in the podcast, but you could tell something was up when they got to it. The FBI agent was talking about meeting with Whitacre at a Chinese restaurant, and how they could see he obviously had something on his mind, then came out with the statement, “My lawyer doesn’t want me to talk to you about this, but…”
It’s definitely a weird little movie. You feel like things are ‘off’ right from the start, but you don’t really understand until they get further and further into the web of lies that Whitacre created around himself.
What was going on at the time where the FBI kept telling MW “tell ADM you are cooperating with us, and you want your own lawyer.”
Then ADM introduces MW to their lawyers, and MW sits down with the associate for a lengthy talk.
Afterwards, MW and the lawyer approach the other ADM folk, and at THAT time he says, “I’m cooperating with the FBI, and want my own lawyer.”
Did he do this for a reason, or because he was clueless?
Did MW really think he was going to be welcomed back to ADM after blowing the whistle, or was that another part of his intricate scheme?
How complicit was his wife? Was she just clueless to his having millions of $?
It was necessary to have the intenal monologues where Whitacre lies to the audience repeatedly so when Agent Shepherd finally confronts him with a truth he can’t lie around (the area code bit), Whitacre’s internal monologue thought process finally gives up lying, it has some emotional ‘ummph’.
I’ll probably go see it just because it was filmed in this city, and I can see all the people I knew that lined up to be extras.:rolleyes:I mean, how many times do you get to see your town made fun of in front of the nation?
It was a good effort, but didn’t amount to a great film. It dragged in places. And the trailers made it seem like an out and out comedy where it was more of a dry humored docudrama. As a real life story it was interesting, though confusing. Took me a while to figure out what had been going on. I found it amusing that they went for a big 70s vibe with the titles and music and film look, meanwhile the events occurred in the 90s lol.
Question: how is the town the movie is set in, Decatur, Illinois, portrayed? Either via specific reference or the general cinematography? My wife is from there and I heard they did some filming. It’s kind of a bleak place these days…
My wife went to school at Millikin, and one of her first comments after was disappointment that they did not show the city more. The vast majority of the movie was set in anonymous office space. I think there was an exterior of ADM, and some shots at Whitacre’s home which could have been anywhere. Can’t remember a single significant exterior shot of Decatur.
Aw man - that’s a bit of a bummer; thanks for the info.
…and ask your wife if she went to Krekel’s very often. It’s the local walk-up-and-order fast food burger place (besides the Dairy Queen outlets). Great lemon chiffon ice cream!
I enjoyed the movie (especially Damon’s performance), and wasn’t confused about anything. The whole thing is about a pathological liar digging himself a deeper and deeper hole. Not much to be confused about.
The only thing he was telling the truth about was the price fixing, and that was only because his wife had threatened to tell if he didn’t. He was also apprently deluded enough to think blowing the whistle on the price fixing would clear the way for him to become the top dog at ADM, but that was not his original motive in doing so. If ADM had never called in the feds to deal with the fictional Japanese blackmailer, he never would have spoken to them.
There was an article in today’s Chicago Trib about Whiteacre’s attorney and his association with the book/film. One thing I found curious is it had 2 references to W being medicated - said at the time he was not taking his meds, and that now he is taking his meds and doing well. So at least to some extent it suggests a diagnosable and treatable pathology.
