The Informer
Directed by:
Andrea Di StefanoCinematography:
Daniel KatzCast:
Joel Kinnaman, Rosamund Pike, Common, Ana de Armas, Clive Owen, Karma Meyer, Sam Spruell, Ruth Bradley, Eugene Lipinski, Martin McCann, Mateusz Kosciukiewicz (more)VOD (1)
Plots(1)
Honorably discharged Special Ops soldier Pete Koslow’s (Joel Kinnaman) world is turned upside-down when he is jailed after a fight to protect his wife (Ana de Armas). He’s given a chance for early release by becoming an informant for the FBI (Rosamund Pike and Clive Owen) and using his covert skills in an operation to take down The General, the most powerful crime boss in New York. But when the FBI sting meant to finally earn Koslow his freedom results in the death of an undercover NYPD cop, Koslow finds himself caught in the crossfire between the mob and the FBI. The General insists Koslow takes the heat and sends him back to prison to spearhead a drug operation from inside, and the FBI affirms that going back to jail to do The General’s bidding is the only way for Koslow to keep his deal with them alive. Caught in a world of impossible choices, Koslow must return to prison, where he formulates a plan to escape the clutches of three of New York City’s most powerful organizations – the mob, the NYPD and the FBI – in order to save himself and his family. (Warner Bros. UK)
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Reviews (5)
An old-school thriller about a tough guy who has to figure out how to survive in prison as a snitch who's been thrown under the bus by his bosses. Joel Kinnaman tries hard, and there are a few excellently shot and suspenseful scenes, it's just that the whole of The Informer kind of unnecessarily steamrolls forward without giving the side characters the attention they deserve and that the makers probably would have wanted. It's quite a shame, because all it would hae taken was a little and this good movie could have been a great one.
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What I loved about The Informer was the fact that its story takes place in the gray area - the good guys are not really that good while the bad guys are not so bad, except for those who are. So, I got excellent action and even more elaborate manipulation, with a great cast. The ubiquitous Russian mafia was replaced by the Poles, which I'm sure Patryk Vega would appreciate.
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It’s good, but it could have been excellent, because it had everything needed: charismatic good guys, unassuming and appropriately sleazy bad guys, a raw prison, impressively authentic and grainy filters, down-to-earth direction; in short, everything in place for a quality street crime drama. Unfortunately, the second half slowly slides with its exaggerated inventiveness and subtlety from a gritty drama in the style of Shot Caller into a typically set (and predictable) Hollywood production with increasingly improbable situations and twists. For Di Stefano's second film, however, it's definitely decent and gives hope that other films will be similarly good, like the ones by Zahler, a specialist in crime dramas when he has the right guys and scripted finales.
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After a long time, I finally came across a truly suspenseful crime thriller that also ran like a well-oiled machine. I slowly started to think that nobody can make something like that nowadays. European creators once again gave their overseas counterparts a run for their money. I was delighted with Joel Kinnaman, who gave an absolutely riveting performance in the lead role, which contributed, among other things, to the masterly ending of the story. (85%)
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The acting is first class, led by the perfect Joel Kinnaman and the delightful Ana de Armas, but Clive Owen, Common and Rosamund Pike are also good. It's a shame that the story brings nothing new to the table and the prison is only there for 30 minutes at most, but I still had a decent time. 6.5/10.
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