The Informer

Amid the contrivances and genre trappings that define The Informer is a complex character and a magnetic portrayal that really stand out.

Playing an FBI informant with a checkered past, Joel Kinnaman demonstrates his commitment with a serious physical transformation — bulked up and heavily tattooed — in an otherwise half-hearted exploration of the challenges of serving justice when some of the crooks carry badges.

Despite a few clever twists that blur the lines between traditional heroes and villains, this Manhattan crime thriller lacks credibility and consistent tension in its second half.

Kinnaman plays Pete Koslow, a decorated ex-soldier sent to prison for an act of violence while defending his wife (Ana de Armas). He gets a reprieve when a federal agent (Rosamund Pike) solicits his services to take down a notorious mobster and drug trafficker.

But the sting results in the murder of an undercover cop, and Koslow catches heat from both sides as well as a suspicious NYPD investigator (Common). Perhaps the best way to ensure his own safety — and eventually his freedom — is to go back to prison and work from the inside.

As details are gradually revealed about Koslow’s background and motives, he winds up as a pawn in a chaotic power struggle between cops and narcotics dealers, and more cops and more criminals, causing viewers to shift loyalties along with the characters.

The Informer is familiar in terms of dramatic themes and narrative framework, although Italian director Andrea Di Stefano (Escobar: Paradise Lost) captures the intricacies of its high-stakes undercover operation with a certain gritty flair.

Kinnaman (who played the title role in the 2014 RoboCop remake) captures the moral complexities of a conflicted man whose quest for redemption generates hard-earned sympathy.

Unfortunately, this adaptation of a Swedish novel too often settles for clichés on both sides of the law, including stock supporting roles that strand a fine ensemble cast. And by the way, it’s odd to see mainly British actors playing such hardened New Yorkers, even if the accent work is professional.

At any rate, whenever Koslow is not on screen, the film lacks much emotional depth beyond the average episode of a television police procedural.

Rated R, 113 minutes.