In a Nutshell
When an undercover FBI sting on the Polish Mob goes wrong, reformed criminal Pete Koslow intentionally gets himself sent to prison to avoid being identified as a mole. After failing to grasp his last opportunity at freedom, he finds himself in the menacing confines of a brutal New York prison in the midst of a conspiracy where nobody can be trusted.
[imdb]http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1833116/[/imdb]
Review
Can I start by saying how difficult it was to write a synopsis for this? One minute it wants to be the traditional action thriller story of a man full of remorse who is wronged by the powers that be and will do anything to protect his family.
The next minute it is an office political drama involving friction between police departments, the FBI and other government officials who are also tied to the mafia.
Then it shifts to become a gritty jail drama involving racial hatred and collusion, followed by a smart and sophisticated prison-escape before turning into Jason Bourne man on the run wearing a baseball cap in public territory. Does De Stefano’s scattergun approach stick?
Based on a Swedish Crime Novel Three Seconds by Anders Roslund, now I have not read this story but The Informer has all the traditional qualities of a gripping scandi-noir police drama, such as corrupt and troubled government officials, dark and remorseful protagonists set in a very bleak and unforgiving landscape.
In this case, we swap Stockholm for New York City and follow ex-con turned FBI informant, (Joel Kinnaman) who delivers an entertaining performance as the emotional and conflicted Pete Koslow. Koslow has one final opportunity to secure his freedom by aiding the successful arrest of a local Polish Mafia Kingpin. He works undercover for FBI Agents Wilcox (Rosamund Pike) and her suspicious superior Montgomery (Clive Owen) in a bid to clear his name.
When the sting results in the death of a police officer, this provokes further tension between the mafia, the FBI and the NYPD. Koslow finds himself in the middle of the storm and decides the only way to survive is to purposely get sent to prison under the watchful eye of the Polish mob.
The film boasts an impressive supporting cast including tenacious NYPD officer Grenz (Common) and future Bond Girl Ana De Armas playing Koslow’s wife. Unfortunately, this is not enough to overcome a staggered and cliched script.
Trust (or lack of) is the main focus of the story. In an early exchange, we witness Koslow arguing with Agent Wilcox about which microphone he would like to wear ahead of their mission. This gives us an insight into the relationship between the two and that whilst she is only following orders and protocol, his character tends to deviate from the norm and is perhaps the reason why he found himself on the wrong side of the law in the first place.
This is the only real insight we get however and we find ourselves having to piece the plot together ourselves. I also point blame at the likes of Scorsese’s The Departed and Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs for showing exactly how to build tension involving undercover police and wearing wires, this film simply does not carry enough weight or emphasise the consequences of being detected.
The movie treats the audience to two sustained bouts of violence which are very uncomfortable to witness. Both take place inside the confines of the NYC prison, one scene, in particular, made me very grateful that I still had a working set of lungs and that I could reassure myself that I was able to breathe properly.
I must admit if you can overlook the traditional corrupt prison guards, the cliched race hating gangs and the unnecessary overuse of the F-word to make it sound more prison-like…
Let’s just say you will learn an inventive way of how to smuggle fentanyl that does not involve a trip to the toilet. However for all it’s positives what takes us away from any tension is knowing that our character has been locked up before, he knows the surroundings and it does not feel intimidating enough for me.
Verdict
At times The Informer is a sharp, quick-witted feature that boasts some pretty brutal set-pieces keep and a talented ensemble. Its charismatic leading man does much of the film’s heavy lifting, but even he couldn’t save a film that failed to ignite my interest.
