Runester

So, yesterday we went to the birthday party of my fiancee’s nephews – four year old twins. The kids are very cute, and it looked like they received some very nice gifts – including two bikes! We couldn’t stay around long enough to watch them open their gifts (something I had wanted to video tape for her family website) partially because the party was very slow to start, partially because we had already bought tickets for a 4:50 PM showing of the Informant, and partially because one of the little tykes pulled the fire alarm in the event hall. So, on the one hand it’s a party the family will be talking about for years, on the other hand we don’t actually have much in the way of photo’s or video. The approximately three (3) minutes of video I was able to take will have to edited, converted, and then uploaded to her family site; hopefully some time on Sunday.

As for the movie, it was fun. I think that Matt Damon did a very good job and demonstrated, again, that he’s got real acting chops and can slip into a wide variety of roles. He looks and acts so much like the middle-class corporate executive just bumbling his way into this FBI investigation that you almost feel bad for him. Then, as the ‘twist’ begins to get revealed you see that he’s not really anything of the sort! In fact, one of the most interesting things about the movie is how hard it is to nail down that character.

Mark Whitacre is a real man and this story is based on true events. But big question is, who really is Mark Whitacre? On the one hand, he seems to be quite brilliant, earning several advanced degrees even after he goes to prison. He’s likable, affable, friendly, and talkative. His life seems so mild, in a sort of mid-level management sort of way. He doesn’t cheat on his wife, he really cares about his kids, and he seems to love his job. Most of the beginning of the movie shows him thinking, almost continuously, about corn and corn products. This is not some kind of master criminal here. But, on the other hand, his malfeasance and constant lying become more and more desperate and obvious. So, there is something about him … something both more and less then he seems. And, being the primary character in the movie and having his inner dialog be the voice-over we hear throughout the movie – we still don’t really know who he is.

I left the theater, both amazed and perplexed by this enigma of man. And, for what it’s worth, he got out of prison and landed on his feet, getting a COO position with Cypress Systems, Inc. In other words, he’s still able to take care of his family, and be a “C” level executive in a biochemical company, and probably still go on golf outings around the country – and all with a serious federal conviction on his record.

The third, creepy and unspoken, aspect of the movie and this character, is the feeling that they operate on a completely different playing field then the rest of us. The travel, the money, the crimes, the lifestyle, and the ability to shake it off and keep going afterwards are really like nothing I’ve ever seen from a street level thug. If I snatched the purse of a little old lady and made off with $50 dollars, and then got caught for it – my life would be significantly worse for this lapse in moral judgement. But, ADM makes billions with price fixing, pays $500 million in fines and penalties, and the top executives responsible serve three (3) years in prison. Mark Whitacre embezzles something like $9.5 million and he gets just over eight (8) years in prison and ends up a well paid executive at another company.

The wikipedia article, linked above, is well worth reading. This is a fascinating case, about a fascinating man, and seems to say more about corporate America and the judicial system then it does anything else. Oh, and that bit about the different playing field.