Despite its TV aesthetic and lack of a thematic thread, The Informer is engaging and emotionally resonant enough to make it worth a watch on a casual night out.
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Adapted from the Swedish crime novel Three Seconds by Anders Roslund and Börge Hellström, but set in New York, The Informer follows ex-con Pete Koslow (Joel Kinnaman) who is working undercover in a Polish drug gang for the FBI, in return for a shortened prison sentence, for which he was serving because he had beaten up a bar patron to protect his girlfriend.
Koslow and the FBI - FBI agent Wilcox (Rosamund Pike), in particular - are working together to bust a drug lord when things go terribly awry: an undercover local NYPD cop gets killed in Koslow’s presence and the FBI wants to distance itself from the incident. When NYPD officer Grens (rapper Common) begins his vengeful investigation into his colleague’s murder, Koslow is put between a rock and a hard place.
Kinnaman hasn’t been in a lot of memorable movies. While Kowlow is not exactly a richly written character, it does give Kinnaman the space to stretch his acting chops, which he pulls off with some heft, proving that he has leading man potential.
Despite its TV aesthetic and lack of a thematic thread, The Informer is engaging and emotionally resonant enough to make it worth a watch on a casual night out.
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