The Informer Movie Review : A decent, entertaining thriller

The Informer Story: The life of a former special ops soldier completely changes when he goes to jail while trying to protect his wife.

The Informer Review: After getting out of prison once, Pete Koslow (Joel Kinnaman) finds himself trapped by FBI agents trying to frame a Polish drug lord. When a cop is killed during a deal gone bad, he runs the risk of getting exposed as a mole. To protect his identity and save his wife and daughter, Pete agrees to go to jail again, while the FBI promises to keep him safe. Once again, things don’t go according to plan.

Joel Kinnaman is entirely believable as a man pushed into a corner with very few options but to give in to the FBI’s demands. Kinnaman displays his acting range, as Pete Koslow turns into a desperate man fighting for survival, with no one left to trust. Pete truly loves his wife and daughter, and Kinnaman’s chemistry with Ana de Armas works to make their dynamic convincing. Rosamund Pike and Clive Owen in supporting roles don't push any new boundaries but they both round up the cast pretty well. Common puts in a strong performance as the NYPD cop trying to make sense of Pete’s role in the FBI’s elaborate plan.

Surprisingly, the exposition is delivered well as crucial details are revealed over time. However, the plot takes a while to get going. Sure, the suspense kicks up a notch once Pete is in jail, but the lead up to it may feel stretched out.Crisper editing would do the pacing a considerable favour. Additionally, it's hard not to foresee specific details; there are ample movies with similar setups and twists. The most difficult one to digest comes in the climax, which may completely change the overall opinion of the film. That aside, ‘The Informer’ is a solid, entertaining thriller with gritty action scenes that makes full use of its plot to drive the suspense, instead of Hollywood's typical big-budget blockbuster approach.