The music and the color palette and even the caption font seemed very 1970s to me, yet the movie was set in the early to mid 1990s? It gave a very strange tone to the movie. However, I did feel Matt Damon did an excellent job acting in a very different role from his usual fare. I found it interesting but I am still not sure what to think of this film.
shareTotally agree about the music, I thought it didn't fit in at all, big mistake. But Damon's acting was nothing less than spectacular.
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You took the words right out of my mouth. It was 18 years ago, not 38 years ago.
shareIt was a very absurd movie, and anytime I noticed the music I totally got lost in how strange the whole thing was hahah. It was hilarious, and the music actually made me laugh harder.
shareBeyond just the music, the hair, clothes, and technical gadgets seemed to be from decades earlier. I mean c'mon, the FBI doesn't have cellular phones in the mid 90's and are using a pay phone at a hotel. Zack on Saved by the Bell had a cell phone in the late 1980's for God's sake.
shareThe FBI didn't use cell phones probably because they aren't secure.
shareI thought the music was also a problem.
My take on it is that the film was marketed as a comedy even though it was pretty squarely a drama, so to enhance the funniness they put comedic music, like they do on 30 Rock, Malcolm in the Middle, Community, arrested Development, Scrubs, etc.
"It was a very absurd movie, and anytime I noticed the music I totally got lost in how strange the whole thing was hahah. It was hilarious, and the music actually made me laugh harder."
Agreed....I had exactly the same reaction. The combination of Matt's dead pan delivery, his whacked out voice overs, and that music doubled me over. The music was so painfully awful...I just couldn't stop laughing. Kind of like Peggy Lee's song "Is that all there is?" from the movie After Hours. It fit in so well I thought it was written for the movie until I found the soundtrack. But the most puzzling thing of all, for me, was the fact that this song was quite popular in the latter 60's and a big hit for Peggy Lee. What must the mood of those people have been that a song filled with abject despair hit number 11 on the charts and won a Grammy. Sorry. The point is, that song is gun in your mouth dreadful (strictly my opinion) which makes me laugh, somewhat like the music in The Informant! Excuse the verbosity. And I realize "Is that all there is" is based on Thomas Mann's story, which might explain the bleakness of it....I still think it's hilarious.
The music being out of place was the point
shareYep. The music, hairstyles, fashions, phone technology, etc. were a deliberate mish-mash of 70s, 80s, and 90s. (And maybe even a little 60's thrown in.) I'm sure these were deliberate choices by Soderbergh to create a loony, bizarre, off-kilter tone. Definitely all over the map, but it worked for me.
shareI completely agree. I can't get over some of Soderbergh's choices. He wasn't working with much of a script, but his choices made a pretty bad script worse. Everything seemed 70's from the Austin Power's music to the fonts to the characters to the plot. It was like a 70's TV movie. It was all very out of place and incredibly distracting from an otherwise pretty bad movie. Hmmm, come to think of it, maybe it was a good thing.
Matt Damon was pretty good, but not great, and I am a fan. Another major flaw was that it was glaringly obvious that something was way off about him from the beginning because of the ridiculous voiceovers.
I felt the music fit perfectly. It fit with the overall Dark comedy theme. I think Soderbergh, picked the absurd sounding music. Just for the sure fact of absurdity. The Austin Powers Esque feel. Is what blended it all together, into a goofy masterpiece!
shareAgreed.
It was a very odd movie. Clothing, music, and colors seemed 70's. I was shocked when someone mentioned it was supposed to be the 90's.
I only liked the intro music. The rest was absolutely out of place and hurt the film.
The music was composed by Marvin Hamlisch, who also did the music for The Sting, which was about con artists. So in this case I believe the music is appropriate for The Informant.
shareI just watched this, and the entire time I kept thinking, "Is this really supposed to be the early to mid-90s?" It definitely felt like the 60s-70s to me. A large part of that was the music, but also the art direction felt very 'dated'. I understand that it was probably a conscious decision to make the film seem stylized and just...not-quite-right, because in the end, that's the mind of Mark Whitacre.
I have to say, though, even though it was a little off, it was brilliantly executed. It's one of those movies that I'm honestly not quite sure if I loved it, or just respected it, hahaha... I'll have to think about it some more.
"Falling feels like flying... until you hit the ground."-Tom McRae
I completely agree with your comment on not knowing if you loved the film or just respected it. I was kind of lost in the beginning, and wasn't sure what sort of film it was supposed to be, but by 30 mins in I really enjoyed it! I loved the music choices, the style and I didn't find it distracting at all. I liked the subtlety of the humour and I thought it worked well as a comedy. I was really impressed with Matt Damon's performance as well - glad I watched it in the end :)
Sorry, but IMHO the music is GREAT.
Gives a definitive edge to many key scenes. Maybe we'll use it for teaching.
Also I noticed a "cartoonish" feeling all around the score a la AAP or Merrie Melodies...
But who cares? Best!
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I really hated the soundtrack and 60-70s "Austin Powers" vibe. Good story, but it was just too distracting for some of us. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the film.
"Don't get chumpatized"! -The King of Kong (2007)
the idea of the movie was good and it was funny, but funny part was him talking to himself and the whimsical stuff he was thinking was hilarious... but the big problem for me was the music, the font, and the whole feel - it didn't feel 90s at all! except for the computer and cellphones... if that was supposed to be part of the comedy that made it less funny to me...
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can't outrun your own shadow
I loved the music. I think they were working on a low budget and struck just the right tone for the film. Think "unbelievable."
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