The Informant (1997)

Director:

Jim McBride

Writers (WGA):

Gerald Seymour (book)
Nicholas Meyer (screenplay)

Release Date:

2 January 1998 (Turkey)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Even freedom has its price.

Plot:

A young IRA member is forced to turn informant on his comrades when he is caught in an assassination attempt on a judge. |

Plot Keywords:

Irish Republican Army | Terrorism | Ireland | Independent Film | Based On Book

Awards:

1 win & 4 nominations

Cast

Anthony Brophy	...	Gingy McAnally
Cary Elwes	...	Lt. David Ferris
Timothy Dalton	...	DCI Rennie
Maria Lennon	...	Roisin McAnally
John Kavanagh	...	IRA Chief
Sean McGinley	...	Frankie Conroy
Frankie McCafferty	...	Dalton
Stuart Graham	...	Det. Astley
Gary Lydon	...	Det. McDonough
Sean Kearns	...	Det. Prentice
B.J. Hogg	...	Constable Goss
Ciarán Fitzgerald	...	Gerard McAnally
Virginia Cole	...	Roisin's Ma
Gary Lammin	...	Cpl. Jones
James Gaddas	...	British I.O.

Also Known As:

Field of Blood (USA) (working title)
Johnny Loves Suzie (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language, sexuality and violence, including a rape scene.

Runtime:

149 min | USA:105 min | Germany:105 min

Country:

Ireland | USA

Language:

German | English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Certification:

Netherlands:16 | Australia:MA (cable rating) | USA:R | Finland:K-16

Filming Locations:

Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland

Company:

Hallmark Entertainment

Goofs:

Factual errors: In one scene, the Union Flag is upside down.

Effective and wise

Yet another film about "The Troubles", this time focusing on an IRA hitman who ends up snitching his so-called "friends" to the police. This film´s themes are as follows:

1. War sucks, regardless of which side you´re on. Basically, the whole war is utterly pointless, as are most wars. Neither side is right or wrong, though both have some valid arguments justifying their case. The biggest victims are the innocent, normal citizens, and the families of those who take part in the mayhem.

2. Family is more important than pride or country.

This is indeed a solid film, with above midlevel-acting supporting the fairly original point of view. Dalton does his best role as the harsh detective Rennie. There´s some true fire in his eyes during some magical scenes, unlike in the Bond-films. He´s very convincing, but still wisely leaves enough room for the other actors.

The best scene might be the one where the little kids fight ferociously, just because the hatred runs in the family. A shocking scene, that really makes you think, as does the rest of the movie. It´s wise of the filmmakers to show each side as equal, and not to take sides. An entertaining and thought-provoking film, with quality acting and an interesting touch of indie.

3½/5 or 7/10