The Informers, based on the novel by Bret Easton Ellis and directed by Gregor Jordan, of Buffalo Soldiers semi-fame, is set to be one of the most-talked about films at Sundance this year. Or will it just be one of the most easily dismissed?
Earlier this week the New York Times ran a piece on the film which painted it as a tough sell and a polarizing viewing experience. That angle isn’t so difficult to see, given that the film chronicles 1980’s excess, as per the Ellis standard, in this time of economic crisis. Now there’s a red-band trailer that shows off the tone and, more specifically, the body of Amber Heard. (“I think Amber Heard wears a dress once in the entire movie,” said Senator Entertainment’s distro head to the NYT.)
And the film almost seems like a titanic exercise in stunt casting. It’s an ’80s tale featuring Kim Basinger, Winona Ryder, Mickey Rourke and Chris Isaak? (With Billy Bob Thornton and the last appearance of Brad Renfro.)
Beyond that, I’m having trouble seeing the polarizing aspect in action. All I get from the trailer is Less Than Zero Redux. (Which was said of the original novel, too.) I’m glad that Ellis and co-writer Nicholas Jarecki (yep, brother of the documentarians Andrew and Eugene) killed the vampire subplot that was part of the novel’s vignette patchwork, but I”m afraid that if you were to cut Amber Heard out of this clip, the only remaining notes of interest would belong to Mickey Rourke.
For another look at the film, check out the exclusive clip we ran earlier today.
EDIT: I didn’t explicitly say this before, because I thought the note that the trailer below is red band would be enough, but it’s definitely NSFW.