THE INFORMANT! (REVIEW)

In the Nineties he became a whistleblower determined to expose illegal price-fixing at the highest levels of American agriculture. The FBI recruited him as an undercover agent and he flattered them with shocking tales of guilty executives and elaborate conspiracies. In his mind he was a character in a John Grisham thriller but his revelations were all lies.

Whitacre’s story is told in The Informant!, a jazzy canter through his crimes and misdemeanours with a rock solid central performance from Matt Damon. Looking as nerdy as Ned Flanders from The Simpsons, a doughy Damon is very plausible as a man who chose 0014 as a code name because he was “twice as smart as James Bond”.

This is an amusing and beautifully acted little caper but the very American shenanigans may well struggle to keep you entirely engaged.

(Cert 15; 109 mins)

VERDICT: 3/5