The Informant

An ambiguous crime drama from a writer and director who both contributed to the recent gangland epic Underbelly. The Informant features an excellent cast, led by the always reliable William McInnes, who gave an a superbly intense performance in last year's brilliant miniseries East West 101 (without doubt one of the best Australian television productions in recent years).

This TV movie was broadcast without fanfare on a quiet Friday night, no doubt seen by very few people, which is a shame. It was also awarded best original telemovie at the Australian Writers' Guild 'AWGIEs' a few months ago. As we all become increasingly disillusioned with network television, we should at least be grateful that this was shown at all, and not relegated to the 'not commercial enough' section of Channel Ten's dusty archives.

The film is an intriguing blend of criminal investigation and family drama, set in Sydney, with McInnes as a blokey furniture salesman with apparent knowledge of international crime syndicates. He is employed by the government to infiltrate one such organisation. The movie is stylish and well-written and provided a refreshing change from associating with drunken muppets at the pub on a Friday night :)

Brilliant Australian movie, far exceeded my expectations. Quality cast give exceptional performances, particularly MacInnes in the title role. There are also some thought-provoking moments with well-chosen musical pieces. The story, allegedly based on a true story, is about an innocuous outdoor furniture salesmen who comes out of the woodwork, to alert authorities about an international criminal in Australia. The federal police, while appreciative of the information, are somewhat suspicious of the informant and his background. Taking a chance, they realise that he could be a "new methodology" in their fight against crime, and employ the informant for an important case they have had trouble with. This is a unassuming movie, well written, which does everything right. Probably the best Australian movie I've seen.

I have just finished watching the informant and what can i say other than great movie. From the casting of colin friels to the well thought out plot of the undercover world. The characters were very believable,the actors playing there roles were brought there a game and a director who gave us a very in depth view of the special police undercover world based in sydney. The little side plots were good as well regarding the informant's daughter and son and also the other two police officers monitoring the operation, i was also surprised that there was no course language normally for an Australian film the script is covered in that stuff but even if it did it doesn't bother me anyway. This year i have noticed also that channel 10 has been making the quality programs likes of rush and now the informant as normally its the other stations making quality but change is good. One other thing i will add to my review is that at the end of the movie they sort of left it open for more story. maybe we might see another movie or even a TV series, who knows. I hope they bring this movie out on DVD.