As an ex-convict, working with the FBI to infiltrate a local (Polish) drug cartel is always something of a risk. But for Joel Kinnaman it has resulted in his release from a maximum security prison and time back with his family. Problem is – the FBI need him back inside the same prison.
It’s all a little complicated as ‘good’ is pitted against ‘good’, bad against badder and good against baddest. And it turns out that not all is as it seems – the heavily-tattooed Kinnaman was little more than an average Joe until some macho gang member insulted his wife, Ana de Armas. Yet head FBI honcho Clive Owen is up to something – and probably at the expense of Kinnaman and his handler, Rosamund Pike. Good job local detective Common is on the ball and smells a rat. And all this plus the drug cartel!
The Informer sounds full of predictabllity and cliches, but the reality is director Andrea Di Stefano has pulled off something of a superior, genre-busting gang thriller. Brash and brawn it may be and the film would have benefitted from some stepping-back reflection. But it’s entertaining brashness.
Rating: 63%
Director: Andrea Di Stefano (Escobar: Paradise Lost)
Writer: Matt Cook (Triple 9, Angel Has Fallen), Rowan Joffe (28 Weeks Later, Brighton Rock), Andrea Di Stefano (Escobar: Paradise Lost, Mare nero) – based on the novel by Anders Roslund and Börge Hellström
Main cast: Joel Kinnaman (Suicide Squad, Knight of Cups), Ana de Armas (Knives Out, Blade Runner 2049), Clive Owen (Children of Men, Closer)
Sprawling and anarchic, director David Ayer has perfectly captured the essence of the band of superheroes who make up the squad.
An Opinion or Two 