Review of The Informer (1935) by Brandon S — 05 Feb 2010

An incredibly stupid man rats out his murderer IRA buddy, and then his guilty conscience makes him absurdly defensive. "Subtle" usually isn't in John Ford's vocabulary, but this film has a slightly more complex morality than his usual work (for example, the protagonist is a violent, impulsive drunk).

But Ford makes a fatal mistake: he assumes your sympathies lie with the Sinn Fein. I don't have a massive hardon for Ireland the way Ford does, and I don't approve of the IRA's tactics. So I really couldn't care what any of these idiots did to each other.

And Victor McLagen's performance is so over-the-top that I never developed any sympathy for him either, whether I was meant to or not. However, the black & white photography is very impressive, almost noir-ish in its gritty contrasts.

And the film does provide some tense scenes, especially the trial (reminiscent of M).