Steven Soderbergh's ironic, beautifully acted comedy is based on the story of one of the highest-ranking whistleblowers in American corporate history.
He was Mark Whitacre, an executive who exposed his agri-industry company's multinational price-fixing conspiracy but was foolishly convinced that this would somehow get him a promotion.
This flawed hero, played by Matt Damon, agreed to wear an FBI wire, thinking of himself as a fully-fledged secret agent. His own greed and his over-active imagination didn't help the authorities, however.
The film, which has a jaunty score by Marvin Hamlisch and a tone of comic irony that seldom flags, is expertly cast.
Damon makes his character ridiculous in a very convincing way while never for a moment overplaying.
Scott Bakula and Joel McHale are excellent as the flustered FBI agents, and comedians Tom Papa, Tom Wilson, Rick Overton and the Smothers Brothers add to the sense of reality.
The result is commendably original - and suggests convincingly that "everyone in this country is a victim of corporate crime by the time they finish breakfast".
The Informant!
Cert: 15
