The Informers - Blu-Ray

Film: Following his cult novel American Psycho, which was congenially filmed with Christian Bale, author Bret Easton Ellis has once again taken an unvarnished look at 1980s Los Angeles in The Informers. Director Gregor Jordan (Unthinkable) weaves an imposingly acted whole from the individual elements of Ellis` screenplay, though its coldness of content also keeps the viewer too distant.

Light is shed on the lives of the families surrounding Graham`s (Jon Foster) clique. After the fatal car accident of one of their buddy Bruce, the cracks in the friends' lives that seem so perfect on the surface seem more and more obvious. Graham's girlfriend Christie (Amber Heard), for example, tries to avoid any form of trouble by doing drugs, partying and having sex with alternating partners, ignoring the fact that something is clearly wrong with her health. Graham's separated parents want to make a fresh start, even though mother Laura (Kim Basinger) is having an affair with Graham's boyfriend Martin and his father William (Billy Bob Thornton) can't let go of his ex-lover Cheryl (Wynona Ryder). Graham's buddy Tim (Lou Taylor Pucci), on the other hand, has to deal with his estranged father Les' (Chris Isaak) awkward attempts to reconnect while on vacation in Hawaii.

Big problems are also faced by Jack (Brad Renfro), who works as a doorman at the apartment building where Graham lives with Christie. His Uncle Peter (Mickey Rourke) kidnaps children for money and drags even the normally quiet Jack into his illegal schemes. And musician Bryan (Mel Raldo) struggles with the superficialities of his business and seems to be breaking down over his separation from his ex-wife Nina and his son.

The ensemble that Jordan has assembled here in front of his camera almost makes the film worth watching on its own. Whether it's Billy Bob Thornton, Mickey Rourke, Kim Basinger, Chris Isaak, Amber Heard, Winona Ryder, and the late Brad Renfro, to whom the film is also dedicated, all deliver convincing performances shortly after filming. The problem is that Ellis wants to expose extreme superficiality with his stories, which he does very well. It's just that, as a result, the characters lack an important sympathetic quality that would allow the audience to empathize with the protagonists. Sure, especially Graham and Tim aren't really portrayed unsympathetically. But in the jumble of characters and storylines, the individual characters barely get a chance to develop enough to really reach the audience.

And that's where the film's biggest problem lies: it's simply dancing at too many weddings at once. Taken on their own, the stories are all not uninteresting and some of them are even really good. But there are just too many storylines that just can't really be established and concluded satisfactorily in the end. The plotline around Jack and Peter, for instance, may be exciting and stirring in itself. Within the events of The Informers it seems completely unnecessary. The same goes for the well-played father-son conflict of Tim and Les, which certainly has strong moments, but doesn't really add any important impetus to the story. Had Ellis limited his script to Graham and his family, he would have had enough material for a good, intense drama. As it is, however, the whole thing is just too overstuffed and therefore half-baked to be truly convincing.

Costumes, music and sets, on the other hand, are top-notch and capture the '80s perfectly. The good acting performances and the story elements, which are good in the beginning, make the film worth watching in the end. Unfortunately, this home movie premiere doesn't leave a lasting impression. And that is actually almost a shame given the good author and the great ensemble.

Picture + Sound: Technically, the Blu-Ray is on a good level. The film's super-cooled atmosphere is well conveyed to the screen by the coherent colour scheme, good contrasts and overall satisfactory overall sharpness. The sound is dominated by the 80s soundtrack and dialogue, though these are presented in a very well-tuned manner.

Extras: Unfortunately, the Blu-ray has no extras to offer. Only the trailer and a trailer show of other titles from the provider can be found on the disc. Too bad!

Conclusion: The Informers is a well-acted drama with a high visual aesthetic, which comes along, however, contentwise arg overloaded. Technically, the Blu-Ray can convince, but the lack of noteworthy extras is rather negative weight

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp