To love a Steven Soderbergh movie is to understand that, at times, cinema should push one’s expectations of visual narrative. He’s a rather ambitious director, and by taking chances with such films as Che (breaking the film into two epic parts, never letting the viewer into the mind of Che Guevera), Solaris (a man’s obsession over his dead lover masked as a sci-film), The Good German (a homage to the black and white flicks Casablanca and The Third Man) or The Girlfriend Experience (casting porn star Sasha Grey to anchor a high-def shot flick about a high-priced escort), Soderbergh has garnered his share of devotees and detractors.

With The Informant (Warner Home Video, 108 minutes, R), the bespectacled filmmaker continues to gamble (a trait he possessed long before his Ocean’s Eleven franchise) and almost hits a home run.

Matt Damon gives one of 2009’s most overlooked performances as corporate whistle blower Mark Whitacre, a biochemist turned high-powered exec at Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) who worked with the FBI (here represented by Scott Bakula and Community’s Joel McHale) and blew the lid off ADM’s price fixing scheme with their various competitors.

In the Blu-ray’s audio commentary, Soderbergh explains that his decision to turn the non-fiction story into a comedy was rooted in his desire avoid comparisons to The Insider. He could have easily shot The Informant in a more dramatic, conventional style like Erin Brockovich; and if he followed suit the house money would have gone to Mr. Damon netting a Best Actor nod.

It’s also a nice touch giving comedians Tom Papa, Tom and Dick Smothers (yes, the Smothers Brothers), Tony Hale (who acquits himself well as Whitacre’s dedicated lawyer), and Rick Overton a crime comedy to chew on. And yes, Damon gaining 30 pounds for the movie and sporting the most annoying mustache since Emilio Estevez’s facial hair foray in Stakeout is commendable.

However, Soderbergh’s decision to employ prodigious composer Marvin Hamlisch to score his film, though an interesting touch, doesn’t work. Hamlisch’s score, meant to heighten comedic effect, is too overpowering, giving the impression that The Informant is a bit too cutesy for its own good. The score has the emotional gravitas of the opening theme of Love, American Style, and though it’s probably what Hamlisch intended, it’s definitely a unnecessary in The Informant.

What saves the movie from sheer mediocrity is Soderbergh’s arresting visual style. He turns what is essentially a talking-head movie into a compelling enough experience. Whitacre, a fan of John Grisham and Michael Crichton novels, envisioned himself as a white knight in the price fixing scandal, even though he was an embezzler and a chronic liar who suffered from bipolar disorder. Much of the film’s comedy comes from Whitacre’s internal dialogue, which serves as the quasi-voiceover that runs throughout the movie. It’s easy to see why Damon loved the part; Whitacre is a man of contradictions who ends up deceiving everyone - maybe even himself.

Scott Bakula provides standout work as FBI agent Brian Shepard, a guy who is also looking out for Whitacre’s best interests, even when Whitacre threatens him with a rather ridiculous lawsuit.

Special features on the Blu-ray release include the aforementioned audio commentary from Soderbergh and screenwriter Scott Z. Burns (who adapted the Kurt Eichenwald book The Informant: A True Story) plus six minutes of deleted scenes. Much of the commentary delves into the director’s creative choices behind The Informant (this reviewer had no idea he shot much of the film in available light) and he elaborates on why directing a comedy was much more freeing for him after the exhaustive journey he took with Che.

One deleted scene has Whitacre talking to the FBI agents and possibly taping them in the process, much to their befuddlement. Final Judgment: The Informant is worthy of a Blu-ray purchase if you’re a fan of Soderbergh (even though he’s done more memorable commentaries before, most notably in The Limey with screenwriter Lem Dobbs and Point Blank with Director John Boorman) - and watching deleted scenes is your bag.

As a film, The Informant could have been a first rate outing for Soderbergh sans the campy Hamlisch score and if the filmmaker didn’t fully commit to the picture being a comedy. There’s so much drama and resonance behind The Informant to be had, and really, that’s no laughing matter.