Confidential Informant

A cop who dies in the line of duty leaves his family a lot more than one who dies of cancer on a regular pension. That cold bit of arithmetic drives 'Confidential Informant', Michael Oblowitz's crime thriller set in New York in 1995, with Dominic Purcell, Nick Stahl, Kate Bosworth and Mel Gibson.

Narcotics detectives Tom Moran and Mike Thornton served together as Marines in the Gulf War, where Tom saved Mike's life. On the street they bend the rules when it suits them and always cover for each other, with a heroin addict called Carlos as their informant. Then Tom gets the news: terminal stomach cancer, and he probably won't see Christmas.

He isn't going to leave his wife Anna and their son scraping by, so he settles on the only way out he can see. His death has to happen on duty, and he'll need Mike and Carlos to pull it off. Standing in the way is William Learner, an internal affairs officer who doesn't trust them and won't take his eyes off them, while their lieutenant, Kevin Hickey, sticks up for them from behind a desk and a cloud of cigarette smoke.

Gibson, who wore a badge before in 'Lethal Weapon', plays that lieutenant. Purcell, one of the two leads of 'Prison Break', is Tom, and Stahl, John Connor in 'Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines', plays Mike. Oblowitz wrote it with Michael Kaycheck and Brooke Nasser.

Lionsgate put it out on digital in the US on 27 June 2023, with a small cinema release three days later. Critics were merciless: not one review collected by Rotten Tomatoes was positive, and Gibson ended up with a Razzie nomination for Worst Supporting Actor.

• Action
• Crime
• Drama