I thought the performances from Melanie Lynskey and Scott Bakula were strong as well... and I loved how the script detailed this guy's gradual and inevitable downfall... it's a tricky thing, as once you realize that this guy is not well mentally there's a chance that the story could turn into a sad requiem for a fuck-up, but it refuses to do so... or it at least holds off on doing it as long as it can... I also dug the score and thought it fit surprisingly well...

Anyone who says anything about this being "smug" clearly wasn't paying attention... the reason there's an exclamation point on the title is most likely because it reflects the idea that this screwed-up guy thinks he's Taking A Stand Against Corporate Malfeasance!... even though he's actually a bipolar nutjob who stole money from his company... I mean, there's a reason the pre-credit "Based on a True Story" title card ends with "So There!"

Even when we find out what's really wrong with Mark Whitacre, there's really no reason to feel any kind of sympathy for him; he tried to beat the system and when he got caught, he repeatedly lied and remained in denial until it all caught up with him...

Anyway, I attended a screening with a Q & A with the writer Scott Z. Burns afterward...

He said when he first pitched the idea to Section Eight (Soderbergh and Clooney's now defunct company) he screwed up the pitch, so he called and asked for a "do-over;" they let him come back and he nailed it...

He said Soderbergh told him that he didn't want to make a straightforward corporate thriller, because the story's just so outrageous... so Soderbergh told him to go away and come back with a crazy-yet-funny take on the story... Scott said he finally focused on the notion of, "What was he thinking?" He also said Soderbergh gave him complete freedom to write and tinker with the script, and didn't cut or rewrite a word of it when he turned it in...

Scott also said Marvin Hamlisch said that the score was supposed to reflect Mark's inner mindset, and that the voice-over containing Mark's inner monologues were actually his (Scott's) own random thoughts that he has sometimes, and were not necessarily Mark's actual thoughts...

Scott noted that Soderbergh chose a 70's (not 60's) aesthetic mainly because he considers the 70's to be the greatest period of filmmaking, and he wants his work to reflect that; it's not meant to be a commentary (ironic or otherwise) on Mark or the setting at all...

There's some other stuff I'm forgetting; if I remember it I will return and add it... otherwise, I thought this was a really good flick...
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