Informant (2013)
Average Rating: 6.7/10
Reviews Counted: 17
Fresh: 15 | Rotten: 2
No consensus yet.
Average Rating: 6.6/10
Critic Reviews: 9
Fresh: 9 | Rotten: 0
No consensus yet.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.7/5
User Ratings: 228
Movie Info
The only film with access to Darby since his public confession, Informant meticulously constructs a picture of his life - before and after the death threats - through interviews and tense reenactments starring Darby himself. Darby's version of events is accompanied - and often contradicted - by evidence from acquaintances and expert commentators on various points along the political spectrum, posing complicated questions about trust and the nature of reality. As David Hanners of St. Paul Pioneer
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All Critics (17) | Top Critics (9) | Fresh (15) | Rotten (2)
Anyone interested in movement politics in the 21st century will get plenty to ponder in this well-made doumentary.
Top CriticIf his methods don't come off smoothly, Mr. Meltzer's conclusion does leave you feeling that even the whole story would be cold comfort for those involved.
What emerges is a vague, often chilling impression of an unpredictable opportunist and provocateur who may not even be sure himself.
[An] evenhanded and carefully crafted documentary ...
Celebrated on the right and pelted with death threats from the radical left, Darby seems like nothing more than a pilot fish: apolitical and self-justifying.
Informant is riveting as it slowly assembles a damning profile of its subject. It's also timely.
More of a frustrating experience than an enlightening one.
It suffers from a slow start, but blossoms into a rather fascinating piece of nonfiction psychological portraiture.
Jamie Meltzer's outstanding documentary Informant is either a study of one man's evolving political views, or of a man whose psychological issues have granted him the gift of self-justification.
Meltzer hasn't unearthed enough fresh material, and he hasn't dug deeply enough into Darby's near-sociopathic opportunism.
It creates a useful distance between Brandon Darby and his stories that allow for us to assess them individually, reinforcing the film's suggestion that the truth is elusive.
Fairly involving doc about a de-radicalized revolutionary turncoat.
While Meltzer's documentary is an interesting character study, this misguided informant is never quite as compelling as you'd hope.
Gripping documentary about a snitch responsible for two young men being entrapped by the FBI. In a period where federal agencies are breaking crimes left and right, a most topical offering.
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Brandon Darby once worked with a collective in post-Katrina New Orleans to provide basic services for the populace. Three years later, he goes undercover as an FBI informant to gather information on militant activists intent on disrupting the Republican Convention in Minneapolis. Needless to say, there are more than a few people who feel betrayed by this second part.
But rewind and forget all the politics for a second, even though it is cool to see another collective in action doing a lot of good for the community. Before that, Darby drives from Austin, Tx to rescue his friend King from the floodwaters, thus making him a hero. But it is this same heroic attitude that makes him an ill fit for the everyday tasks of the collective where the workers are required to get their hands dirty, not to mention the meetings which while containing no action are necessary for forming ideas and hearing from members. So, frustrated, Darby looks elsewhere to continue being a hero and for the adulation he feels he deserves, even continuing to be given another chance while playing himself in this documentary. And I almost feel a little sorry for him, until about the last fifteen minutes.