The Informer - Film Review

Although January is historically the month reserved for bad movie releases in cinemas, it seems I am fated to watch terrible movies even when I'm not actually at the theater. I didn't have particularly high expectations for this one. I assumed it would be a fairly generic crime thriller, but my fondness for Ana de Armas and Joel Kinnaman blinded me to the true levels of absurdity I might encounter through this blissfully short film.

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Where You Can Find It: I saw this on Amazon Video where it is available for free to all Amazon Prime subscribers.

General Information 
The Informer is a crime thriller that was released on 6 November 2020; however, it saw early release in the United Kingdom on 30 August 2019. It was directed and co-written by Andrea Di Stefano and is based off of the Swedish crime novel, Three Seconds, by Roslund & Hellstrom. Daniel Katz provided the cinematography for the film, while Brooke and Will Blair composed. It was distributed under Warner Bros. and was co-produced by The Forest Road Company and The Fyzz Facility. The film's international release was marred by the COVID-19 epidemic, so its box office numbers are relatively low with only around just short of $3 million in returns. It has a 61 Metascore on Metacritic and a similar 62% Tomatometer rating on Rotten Tomatoes. 

The Story

Piotr "Pete" Koslow (played by Joel Kinnaman) is a soldier within the New York City-based Polish mafia who is nearing the end of his run as an informant for the FBI. His handler, Special Agent Wilcox (Rosamund Pike), has prepped him for a final sting against the outfit's boss, Klimek (Eugene Lipinski), but things go sideways when one of Koslow's associates kills an undercover cop on the way to delivering a load of fentanyl to the big cheese. Koslow's deal with the FBI is suddenly altered so that he'll have to go undercover in a prison in order to earn his freedom. If that weren't enough, the dead police officer's supervisor, Detective Grens (Common), is sniffing around the operation looking for his own brand of justice.

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Koslow is trapped on the inside and will have to make sure neither the Poles nor the Feds put a shiv in him while he's there

Although the opening few minutes starts off fairly well, it felt like little to no research had been done on how U.S. law enforcement works. Both the FBI and NYPD are portrayed as comically incompetent as the audience beholds special agents divulging sensitive information to whomever the plot demands while NYPD detectives seemingly operate in a vacuum with no concept of backup or planning. I expect some of these issues may stem from the story's foreign origins, as well as the fact that it was primarily made in the U.K.; however, that doesn't excuse the myriad of plot-holes and clichés that inevitably sag this tale down.

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I wonder if this guy even remembers if his gun is loaded or not...

From a characterization perspective, there are glimmers of what could have been fairly multifaceted characters. There are hints of Koslow's life prior to the story like when he was in the military and how he was originally arrested for murder, but these are never really fully explored. Wilcox and Special Agent Montgomery (Clive Owen) also present lost opportunities as Wilcox is torn between her duty to the FBI and her promise to support Koslow and his family, but her loyalty to the FBI is underdeveloped. Montgomery is seemingly a highly ambitious supervisor; however, his motivations are never clarified either so when he begins to act irrationally, it's hard to understand why he does what he does. Lastly, Koslow's wife, Sofia (Ana de Armas) suffers the most, as her only identifying characteristics are "victim" and "hostage."

Special Effects/Atmosphere

I generally liked the overall presentation of this film's cinematography. It's professionally shot, and I found the special effects to be pretty slick. The opening shot of Koslow sewing a listening device into his pants set a good impression for the film's overall visual presentation, and I liked how some of the scenes of the prison were presented. There are enough establishing shots of New York City to remind viewers that this story takes place there, although some of the backgrounds definitely don't look right. There's a particular scene near the end where Koslow is talking to Wilcox by an ambulance and the pair seem to be in the English countryside for some reason.

The Acting

I may be a bit biased here, but Joel Kinnaman is arguably the only truly redeeming feature of this film. I really liked him in Altered Carbon and House of Cards, but I think he's gotten bad luck in films so far (the less said about Suicide Squad, the better). Kinnaman brings some serious intensity to his role as Koslow that kept me invested even when the film arguably didn't deserve it. The expressions of rage, desperation, and fear are all conveyed expertly, and I think it's disappointing that most of his cast mates don't match his level of commitment in this film.

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Kinnaman really tries in this one, but it's a lost cause

Ana de Armas is relatively new to the mainstream, but she's established herself as arguably one of the most important actresses to watch in this generation I found her to be excellent in Blade Runner 2049 and No Time to Die. As mentioned earlier though, her character is given very little to do so her hands are essentially tied.

I still have yet to see Gone Girl, which is seemingly Rosamund Pike's penultimate role; however, I have never been much of a fan of hers. Her performance in this doesn't change my mind and it certainly felt like both her and Clive Owen put in the bare minimum effort in their respective roles. Part of me wonders if the film would've been better off if Pike and Ana de Armas had switched roles, but I would also say enthusiasm is far from the only issue with Wilcox's portrayal. 

The Best of the Best: Joel Kinnaman's desperate attempts to salvage this film.

The Worst of the Worst: The utterly incompetent police.

Calhooey Score: 3/10 - Bad

Would I Recommend?

5

Lock it up and throw away the key

I went into seeing The Informer with relatively low expectations and somehow even that was still too much to ask. The Informer is not a good movie and frankly isn't worth seeing even as a rental. If you want a gritty crime thriller similar to this, I'd try The Departed or maybe even Running Scared.

Spoiler Comments

• The FBI must be incredibly undermanned with COVID since they can only spare two vehicles for a major sting operation to bring down an international crime boss.
• I really want to know what Gomez's plan was before he got killed. He had no backup, so I'm assuming he was hoping to single-handedly arrest four armed Polish gangsters on his own and then march them to the nearest precinct? Considering Detective Gren's operating style, this theory checks out.
• I love that the FBI just drives away from any problematic scenario that they don't like.
• I guess Wilcox's call for teams to move in when Gomez got killed went unanswered.
• The FBI have Klimek on tape willingly participating in a conspiracy to cover up a police officer's murder (as well as acknowledging Koslow brought him fentanyl), but that's suddenly not enough to arrest him? What?
• I was as incredulous as Koslow was when Wilcox and Montgomery dropped that revelation on him.
• For someone who's undercover, Koslow sure does love telling people that he's an informant for the FBI.
• He's not alone either, as Wilcox also loves telling people that he's an informant.
• Detective Gren is so good at his job he can literally stake out a gangster's home right in front of their house and not get spotted.
• I guess Gren's bet on Koslow reaching out to him via "Vermin" went nowhere...
• So, is this film legitimately trying to tell me that not only did Koslow plan for the third sniper to shoot his hostage, but also that the same bullet would hit the flammable tank giving him just enough time to duck for cover?
• Also, none of Slewitt's colleagues noticed that Koslow was being ushered out of the prison after the shootout? Most of the guards even seemed to know Koslow by name. I'm not saying it's impossible, but I have my doubts...
• I'd love to know what majestic, rural place Koslow took that ambulance while seemingly being in Brooklyn. Did he drive all the way to the Hamptons?
• It's a good thing Koslow doesn't have any identifying features for the FBI to spot him during that walkaway at Central Park.
• The FBI should actually pray and hope that they don't catch Koslow. I have a feeling he and his family could sue the Bureau after everything they've been through. 

References

(1) The Informer. (2019). The Informer film image. Movie Score. Retrieved from: https://www.moviescore.com/rate/the-informer-(2019). 

(2) Strauss, B. (2020, November 4). Koslow in prison image. San Francisco Chronicle Datebook. Retrieved from: https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/movies-tv/review-star-studded-thriller-the-informer-heavy-on-crooks-crooked-cop-cliches.

(3) Cine Image. (n.d.). Koslow and Gomez image. Retrieved from: hhttps://www.cineimage.ch/film/informer/.

(4) Hasted, N. (2019, August 29). Joel Kinnaman image. The Arts Desk. Retrieved from: https://theartsdesk.com/film/informer-review-tough-tin-eared-b-movie.

(5) Spagnuolo, E. (2019, October 11). Koslow walking in prison image. GQ. Retrieved from: https://www.gqitalia.it/show/article/the-informer-3-secondi-per-sopravvivere-recensione-intervista-andrea-di-stefano.