Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
The story of Richard Wershe Jr., a teenager who became an undercover informant for the police during the 1980s, and was ultimately arrested for drug trafficking and sentenced to life in prison.
White Boy Rick benefits enormously from Matthew McConaughey's committed performance and a strong debut from Richie Merritt, elevating a true story that could easily have been rote crime drama. The 1980s Detroit setting is rendered with gritty authenticity but not exceptional visual distinction. The plot follows a fairly familiar rise-and-fall crime narrative structure despite the genuinely unusual real-life circumstances, and the film doesn't find a particularly fresh angle on the war-on-drugs or informant genre. The ending, while sobering and appropriately bleak given the true story, lands without much dramatic power. Novelty suffers as the film operates squarely within well-trodden crime biopic territory.