The Informant! (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the film score to the 2009 film The Informant! directed by Steven Soderbergh and starred Matt Damon. The film score is composed by Marvin Hamlisch and released through Warner Sunset Records and Warner Bros. Records on September 15, 2009. It was Hamlisch's final film he worked on, before his death on August 7, 2012.

Development Soderbergh listened to the original score for the Woody Allen-directorial Bananas (1971) which was composed by Hamlisch and liked the work. When he approached the composer to work for the film, the latter agreed as he would not refuse the offer to work with Soderbergh. The Informant! was Hamilsch first film he composed after a decade-long hiatus since The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996), as he had worked mostly on plays.

On working on this film, Hamlisch noted that most of the films did not have a unique range of score unlike this film; the very thought had him intrigued. Though he noted that every note had been written out hodgepodge, they serve a purpose with the film. Though he did not read the novel based on the film, he met the original Mark Whitacre and his wife during the screening, who felt that his work was appropriate for the film.

Hamlisch noted that Soderbergh did not want energetic music, but had to underline the funny aspect, alerting the audience that the film was a comedy. He admitted that the music signified the mind of Whitacre and his perception, as he was bipolar, thereby becoming another character for the film. With this understanding, Hamlisch composed a "light and breezy" theme that uses 1960s hammond organ, but when the character imagines himself as an undercover agent, he composed a James Bond-inspired theme utilizing electric guitars and bongos.

Most of the score has been underlined with jazz elements, like piccolos, kazoos, bass saxophone and fiddles, which used when Whitacre is taking a polygraph test, all contributed to the zany atmosphere. An 18-piece band in New York City, with Hamlisch playing the Piano contributed to the score. He composed an original song "Trust Me" with lyrics by his longtime collaborators Alan and Marilyn Bergman and performed by Steve Tyrell, which also featured an instrumental version, where the song was arranged and conducted in the Frank Sinatra-manner. The song was composed in order to indicate the comedic undertones to the audience, and the song was written in –3 minutes. A couple of bars had been used for writing the song, where the melody was tuned before the lyrics being written.

Reception William Ruhlmann of AllMusic called it a "the most delightful soundtrack album of 2009" and added "this is a score that is anything but a subtle background to the action; it's foreground music that helps dictate the tone of the film". Christian Clemmensen of Filmtracks wrote "Hamlisch, firmly rooted in his comfort zone, nails it with authority." Jonathan Broxton of Movie Music UK noted that he liked the score, partially as it "represents a welcome return to the silver screen for Hamlisch" and also being the "absolute antithesis to all the inane testosterone-fuelled action scores that have littered the summer’s film music scene". James Southall of Movie Wave wrote "the whole score is simply a delight."

Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian called it "a relentlessly jazzy, wacky musical score from Hollywood veteran Marvin Hamlisch". Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter called it a "jaunty score, like something out of a 1960s Doris Day movie". Chris Roberts of Uncut called it "jarringly jaunty". Mike Goodridge of Screen International described it a "razzle-dazzle comedy score". Manohla Dargis of The New York Times called it a "zany" and "neo-slapstick" score, while Kim Newman of Empire called it a "breezy Bond knock-off score".

Dana Stevens of Slate called it a "bouncy score, which sounds like something a ‘70s cartoon character would bop down the street to, grows ever punchier." Todd McCarthy of Variety wrote "the jaunty, old-fashioned score by Marvin Hamlisch serve as immediate tipoffs as to the film’s hyperreal intentions". Christopher Orr of The Atlantic called Hamlisch's score, "a dizzy, inventive triumph, a throwback pastiche of whistling, tubas, and kazoos." George Lang of The Oklahoman wrote "Marvin Hamlisch's score only accentuates the film's goofball aesthetic."

Track listing

Personnel Credits adapted from liner notes:

Music composer and producer – Marvin Hamlisch Recording and mixing – Todd Whitelock Score editor – Missy Cohen Liner notes – Marvin Hamlisch, Steven Soderbergh Art direction – Sandeep Sriram Music administrator – Debi Streeter Music business affairs – Keith Zajic, Lisa Margolis Executive in charge of music – Jason Linn, Doug Frank Orchestra Orchestra – Hollywood Studio Symphony Orchestrator – Larry Hochman Conductor – Marvin Hamlisch Contractor – Michael Keller Instruments Acoustic and electric bass– David Kuhn Acoustic guitar – Scott Kuney, Kevin Kuhn Alto saxophone – Vincent DellaRocca Baritone saxophone, bassoon – Chad Smith Bass Clarinet, oboe – David Young Cello – Deborah Assael, Sarah Hewitt, Stephanie Cummins Clarinet – David Young, John Moses, Vincent DellaRocca Drums – Dave Ratajczak Electric guitar, banjo – Kevin Kuhn Flute – Brian Miller, Keith Bonner French horn – Bob Carlisle, Larry Di Bello Harmonica – William Galison Harp – Laura Sherman Percussion – Ben Herman, Eric Charleston, Joseph Passaro Piano – James Abbott, Lee Musiker Piccolo flute – Brian Miller Synthesizer, organ (hammond) – James Abbott Tenor saxophone – David Young, John Moses Trombone – Birch Johnson, Keith O'Quinn Trumpet – Brian Pareschi, John Chudoba, Bob Millikan Violin – Antoine Silverman, Paul Woodiel Whistle – Kevin Osborne

Accolades Award Date of ceremony Category Recipients Result Critics Choice AwardsJanuary 15, 2010Best ScoreMarvin Hamlisch Chicago Film Critics AssociationDecember 21, 2009Best Original ScoreMarvin Hamlisch Golden Globe AwardsJanuary 17, 2010Best Original ScoreMarvin Hamlisch Houston Film Critics SocietyDecember 19, 2009Best Original ScoreMarvin Hamlisch International Film Music Critics AssociationDecember 14, 2009 Best Original Score for a Comedy FilmMarvin Hamlisch Motion Picture Sound EditorsFebruary 20, 2010Best Sound Editing – Music in a Feature FilmMissy Cohen Online Film Critics SocietyJanuary 5, 2010Best Original ScoreMarvin Hamlisch Satellite AwardsDecember 20, 2009Best Original ScoreMarvin Hamlisch

Notes

References