The Adobe Flash Player is required to view this multimedia interactive. Get it here.

Local man portrayed in 'The Informant!' calls experience ‘surreal’

File photo Mark Whitacre, a Warren County native, blew the whistle on Archer Daniels Midland in 1992.

ENLARGE PHOTO

Watch the trailer for 'The Informant'

Ohio’s abundance of water parks makes it easy to melt away your cares
5/25/12
Taste of Cincinnati expected to draw 500,000 people
5/24/12
Local ingredients key for bartender
5/16/12
Hamilton theater group presents ‘History of America’
5/16/12
How well do you know Kings Island?
5/13/12
> More headlines

Photo from Warner Bros. Matt Damon stars as Warren County native Mark Whitacre in "The Informant!"

By Eric Robinette, Staff Writer Updated 9:20 PM Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Watching yourself on screen can be a strange experience, but watching someone else play you on screen can be even stranger.

Mark Whitacre, a Warren County native and 1975 graduate of Little Miami High School, who is the subject of the movie “The Informant!” which will be in theaters Friday, Sept. 18.

Matt Damon plays Whitacre, who in 1992 blew the whistle on his employer, Archer Daniels Midland, fingering the agricultural company in what was then the largest price-fixing case in U.S. history. Warner Bros., the studio releasing the film, treated Whitacre and his wife, Ginger, to a screening of the movie in June on the Warner Bros. lot.

“We found it surreal. It was almost like it was another person. I was 35 then and I’m 52 now,” Whitacre said. “It was a messy story with a good ending.”

The movie shows how, after Whitacre informed the FBI of the company’s dealings, bipolar disorder got the better of him, causing him to spin increasingly elaborate lies. Whitacre was convicted of fraud and tax evasion charges and spent more than eight years in prison.

The film treats Whitacre’s story as a black comedy, and it got several laughs from an audience during a Monday screening in Newport, Ky. Whitacre says that’s appropriate. A “straight” version of his story might not have sold many tickets, he said.

“The movie’s more a dark comedy version, and they had to do that to commercialize it. It’s more in the tone of ‘Ocean’s 11’,” he said, referring to the crime caper starring Damon and George Clooney. Like “Ocean’s,” “The Informant!” was directed by Steven Soderbergh, who won a Best Director Oscar for “Traffic,” which was partly shot in Cincinnati.

Although “The Informant!” plays Whitacre’s exploits for laughs, Whitacre said he feels the film in no way denigrates mental illness and says Damon did a “fantastic job” playing him.

“The movie’s a lot about the mental illness. Bipolar disorder gets worse when you’re under pressure ... I did a lot of crazy stuff, and they’re showing that bizarre stuff,” he said. Most importantly, “The Informant!” shows how he and his wife survived their ordeal. Although Whitacre was never on the set, the filmmakers often asked Whitacre about the film’s accuracy.

“They never requested (I be on the set) and I never asked for it. It’s a story about a real family, and I think they were very professional. It’s an inspirational story about my family still being together,” Whitacre said.

Share this article