Common Sense Media Review
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Convoluted but not bad action-thriller; violence, language.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 16+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
The Informer
What's the Story?
In THE INFORMER, Pete Koslow (Joel Kinnaman) -- who's ex-military with a criminal past -- is now working for the FBI to infiltrate the Polish mob and try to intercept a big fentanyl sale. Unfortunately, the buyer turns out to be an undercover cop and gets killed. Pete takes the blame for the death, both by the Polish mob boss (Eugene Lipinski) and by his FBI handlers, Wilcox (Rosamund Pike) and Montgomery (Clive Owen). To correct the situation, Pete must return to prison: He's supposed to be out in 24 hours but is betrayed and stages his own violent escape. Meanwhile, an NYPD officer named Grens (Common) wants to avenge the death of his partner, the undercover cop in the drug deal, and Polish gangsters have started to threaten Pete's wife (Ana de Armas) and daughter.
Is It Any Good?
This mixed bag of an action-thriller is so convoluted that several characters and their motivations get lost in the shuffle, but Kinnaman still carries it with his appealing, commanding performance. The Informer is based on a Swedish novel (Three Seconds by Anders Roslund and Börge Hellström), and the screenwriters seem to have had a difficult time compressing it into a two-hour movie. Characters keep showing up, and it's sometimes unclear which side anyone's on -- or why Pete gets the blame for the undercover cop's death. Moreover, actors like Common and Owen tend to hit one-note performances, perhaps because of all the confusion.
Likewise, de Armas gets stuck in the role of a waiting, worrying wife and can't really bring much to it. But Pike's character is consistently interesting, and Kinnaman saves the day, carrying Pete's painful past in his haunted eyes, thinking on his feet, and conveying genuine anguish over the possibility of losing his family. Director Andrea Di Stefano uses him well and stages some gripping sequences, especially the climactic prison break. Overall, The Informer isn't exactly memorable, but it's certainly passable.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about The Informer's violence. How did it affect you? Was it shocking? Thrilling? Both? What was shown and not shown? What's the impact of media violence on kids?
What is fentanyl? How are drugs depicted in the movie? Are there consequences for using?
What good do prisons do? What's problematic about them? What might be some alternate ideas to sending people to prison?
What does it mean to trust someone? Have you ever been let down by someone you trust? Does that make it harder to trust again? Why?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : November 6, 2020
- Cast : Ana de Armas , Rosamund Pike , Joel Kinnaman
- Director : Andrea Di Stefano
- Inclusion Information : Latino Movie Actor(s) , Female Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Aviron Pictures
- Genre : Thriller
- Run time : 113 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : strong violence and pervasive language
- Last updated : February 15, 2023
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