girl by locker says: This movie is brilliant and beautiful, but it was also incredibly difficult for me to watch. It starts out with Gypo Nolan (Victor McLaglen) living in the 1920's during Ireland's Sinn Fein Rebellion. Gypo has just been kicked out of the underground movement for not carrying out orders and is completely penniless. His closest friend, Frankie McPhillip, is wanted for murder by the English and comes back to their hometown in order to see his mother and sister. Gypo ultimately turns him in when the £20 reward proves too tempting. In that brief synopsis, the stage is set for a movie about remorse and revenge...and we get both.
From the beginning, I was caught up in the story, the atmosphere, the cinematography. It really is beautiful and for this I give the movie 4 out of 5 stars on my Netflix ratings. But it was difficult for me to watch Gypo wander around drunk, piddling away his money on drinks and food obviously filled with remorse at what he had done to one of his closest friends. It was painful to see and evoked emotions in me that made me want to scream at the television, "Stop drinking and go buy your ticket to America." I don't think I've ever had that kind of reaction to a movie.
On another note, it was also interesting to me that this is the second public court scene we have seen in which the underground movement judges one of its own. We saw it for the first time with M.
Overall, this movie is definitely worth seeing though don't expect to feel happy when it is all said and done.
Juror #3 says: I love Hitchcock, I truly do. But I am so glad we decided to watch The Informer over 39 steps as our 1935 selection, mostly because I'm more familiar with Hitchcock than John Ford. After watching The Informer I can confidently say that John Ford is one of my favorite directors. I don't know where I would rank him necessarily but he'd be up there with Hitchcock, Griffith, Kubrick, Scorsese and Lean. I mean, Ford was already one of my favorites but there is something about seeing his early work and the inventive processes he utilized that really impresses. This film is beautifully shot, wonderfully acted, and completely engaging.
girl by locker has given a nice breakdown of the plot. Yes, it's dark. Yes, it tugs at your soul. The emotions it invokes is directly equated to the determined focus Ford gives every detail to every scene. For instance, the wanted poster blowing off the street onto our main character's leg. He tries to shake it off, but can't. Eventually it falls to the ground and blows away in an ironic moment of foreshadowing. I could go on and on with the examples of detail but instead I'll just recommend you watch the movie. Towards the end of the film there is a scene that, in my opinion, HAD to be influenced by the movie M - chilling silence and hard, cold stares. The only thing I could complain about is that my own personal convictions didn't really allow me to enjoy the end of the film, meaning the final message. It made me a bit angry actually. But, again, what more can you expect from great filmmaking than the types of emotions that The Informer stirred up. I rate it 5/5 stars.
Netflix Summary: Director Fritz Lang dishes up an unflinching indictment of mob justice in this potent drama. Passing through a small town en route to see his fiancée, upright Joe Wilson (Spencer Tracy) ends up charged with kidnapping based on flimsy circumstantial evidence. When news of his arrest spreads, an irate mob storms the jail, burning it to the ground -- with Joe ostensibly inside. Little do they know that he escaped and is hell-bent on retribution.
