The Informant

This film depicts the work of the IRA with no sentimentality or romanticism and for that I commend it.

The storyline is convincingly written. The acting is very good all round but I would give an outstanding mention to Maria Lennon whose work I had never seen before and Timothy Dalton from who this is just one more excellent performance. The one downside were a couple of the accents, including (and maybe most noticeably) Dalton's. Accents have never been his strong point! That said, he lends the role the same toughness yet humanity that he has to several other characters in his career, Bond included - all-round believability.

There is a twist that I found disappointing but I won't spoil it for those who have not seen it and may be thinking of doing so.

This film is something of a mixed bag! As a fan of Timothys work I was eager to watch this film just to see Tim Dalton,and not so much for the "Troubles" storyline which,and lets face it,Hollywood has done an abysmal job of bringing to the big screen. Dodgy accents aside,this is a fairly accurate film which shows the IRA as the thugs they are,murdering police officers and shooting children. I thought Timothys performance was pretty good,although the accent needed a bit of work. Cary Elwes was thoroughly annoying as the army lt trying to befriend "gingy", who was equally irritating because he constantly had that "i picked the wrong day to stop sniffing glue" look on his face. If you want to see a fairly accurate portrayal of the terrorism that existed in Northern Ireland in the 1990's warts and all,watch this movie! If you want to cling to the belief that the IRA are heroes fighting for truth,justice and a pint of Guinness instead of being the murderers and drug dealers they really are, then my advice is to get real!

A compelling plot line and good acting from Timothy Dalton, somewhat hampered by his on-again-off-again Irish accent, with superb efforts from Carey Elwes, Maria Lennon and Anthony Brophy, make this film a must see for anyone with an interest in "The Troubles".

Although the plot tends to be somewhat heavy handed in its depiction of the English being the good guys, the storyline does a great job leading us through the torment of one man's decision to tout and the ripple effect this causes on everyone he's known. Maria Lennon plays the tortured wife exceptionally well and allows us to imagine the how painful living in Northern Ireland in the early 1980s must have been.

Were it not for the bias of the plot line being so one-sided I would have given this film a 9 out of 10.

I stumbled onto this on Showtime on a rainy night and expected little of it. To my surprise I was drawn into the plight of those trapped in the vicious stand-off of "The Troubles".

The movie conveys powerfully the oppressiveness of the weight of history that sustains the hatreds and the impossible dilemmas faced by people trying to navigate between the opposing forces.

The acting is generally excellent, particularly Maria Lennon as the wife torn between her husband and her loyalties. Anthony Brophy is superb as the trapped husband. The only weak link is Timothy Dalton who chews a bit too much of the scenery as the detective reeling in the unwilling informant.

The lengthy nude scene of Simone Bendix as Cary Elwes' lover is not "essential to the plot" but Simone is so stunning it would be churlish to complain.

Taut and effective. Give it a look.

The makers of this film threw plenty into the mix of a deceptively simple story of a reluctant IRA man (Anthony Brophy) forced to turn supergrass when caught redhanded carrying out a rocket attack on a judge. There are enough bits and pieces thrown in here about the 800-year history of the troubles to give a decent idea of the big picture, even to those like myself who aren't all that familiar with Irish history. We see a bit of the historical background, the current English, Loyalist and IRA positions, how hatred is perpetuated through the next generation, how the innocent as always are victimised the most. It's a heady mix in a gritty and disturbing film, and to their credit, the film makers quite rightly decided not to resolve their story, just like the Troubles themselves. One quibble. Despite good performances, it's a bit hard to accept the central characters being as old as they're supposed to be. Ginger (have I spelt that right?) is meant to have have spent a total of 10 years in prison and we assume his wife has spent an equal time doing it tough raising the kids. It's a bit to believe this when they are played by young spunks Brophy and Maria Lennon.