The movie strings out the ambiguity almost until the end, leaving Belmondo's actions (double-crosser or not?) highly confusing; when this is resolved in an expository sequence, one's thoughts might be to the effect of "so what," unless you like ambiguity for its own sake. The movie has a perfectly poised atmosphere, precise and spare at every stage, with both Belmondo and Reggiani expertly embodying aloof anti-heroes - Belmondo's two best friends are a thief and a cop respectively, symbolizing his position on that arc of self-defined morality previously inhabited by Bogart and others. At the end, looking back over the somewhat self-conscious and over-deliberate machinations, you realize the film's impressive form and control, but I find it hard to place much value on this kind of thing - character is pretty much jettisoned, and it becomes like moving chess pieces; the intellect is obvious, but it's a closed system, extremely limited by genre and the lonely path it's chosen to tread.
Review of The Informer
