'The Informers' based on the novel by Bret Easton Ellis is an addictive movie. Its unresolved ending left me wanting more. Themes of nihilism, sexual hedonism and the superficial glitter of youth and wealth run through several different stories set in Los Angeles to a 1980s soundtrack. The bland boredom of the leisure class is contrasted with the sheer desperation and abuse of the working poor. The excess of the Reagan era is dampened by the arrival of the HIV virus and somehow sex will never be the same again.
Easton Ellis has an eye for detail and a sensitivity to the human condition. His stories illustrate the frailty and faults that come with being human. Even though most of his bored rich kid characters are loathsome at times they all seem quite sad too. From a formalist perspective the film appears glossy and bright with L.A. sunshine; scratch beneath the surface though and you're confronted with some repulsive, horrific truths.
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