Movies about moles hired by police to infiltrate gangs are always an interesting subgenre within the crime thriller-action-drama genres. Films like “Infernal Affairs” (2002), its remake “The Departed” (2006), “Judas and the Black Messiah” (2021), or “BlacKkKlansman” (2018) are all rewatch-worthy films. This genre often depicts characters struggling to choose a side, caught between loyalty and survival, and rarely does anyone escape unscathed. The British-Hong Kong filmmaker Dante Lam’s Chinese action drama, “The Stool Pigeon” (2010), has the same level of intensity in its own style. More than the entertainment, this shows the compromise cops make in Hong Kong using informants. How they are bound by rules and limited budgets, and how unstable informants’ lives turn out after the promises from cops, though they sign everything in a contract, like a job offer.
The Stool Pigeon (2010) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
Don Lee is a police detective whose job is to hire ex-convicts to infiltrate mobs and gangs that deal with smuggling and illegal activities. Lee convinces Ghost Junior, who will be released from prison in two days. Ghost Junior needs money to save his only living family member, his sister, who is under the control of a gang. With no other option left, Ghost agrees to be a stool pigeon for Lee. Whether Ghost can save his sister from the gang controlling her—with help from Lee—drives the intensity of this brutal drama.
What bothers Don Lee the most?
Though his attempt to capture drug kingpin Marco fails, Don Lee’s police team manages to capture Marco’s men and seize the drugs. However, Lee is unable to fully celebrate this victory because his informant, Jabber, nearly lost his life when his cover was blown. Jabber is saved just moments before being killed by Marco and his men, but he is left mentally disturbed. He loses his sanity and becomes homeless, living on the streets and constantly worrying that one day Marco will come for him.
If that wasn’t enough to weigh on Lee’s conscience, his personal life is in shambles. He is now separated from his wife. The separation leaves him a shell of a man. His wife no longer remembers him—her memory lost after he betrayed her trust and passed on syphilis, leaving her unable to have children. She even attempts suicide, but survives, condemned to a life without recollection. It’s this devastating blend of personal trauma and professional guilt that casts a lifeless pall over Lee’s entire being.
Why did Ah Di feel safe with Ghost Junior?
Ghost Junior and Ah Di had crossed paths years earlier, both trying to escape from people chasing them. Ghost Junior was being chased by the police, while Ah Di was running from one of her bosses—someone she stabbed three times. Luckily, when they ran into each other, the police and the gang chasing them clashed, shifting the police’s attention from Ghost Junior to the gang. Ghost Junior took this opportunity to escape, and Ah Di saw it as her chance too, since her pursuers were now distracted by the police. So, when Ghost Junior infiltrates the Barbarian gang through Tai Ping, he is surprised to see Ah Di again. Now, she is pregnant with Barbarian’s child and clearly not happy about her situation. Despite their brief encounter in the past, Ghost Junior and Ah Di didn’t really know each other personally.
The Stool Pigeon (2010) Movie Ending Explained:
What went wrong in the robbery?
Barbarian’s gang carries out the jewellery heist. Ghost Junior cleverly passes this information to Don Lee just moments before the robbery. Don Lee quickly alerts his police team to surround the building, hoping to stop the gang and capture them. In a sequence reminiscent of the film “Heat” (1995), several members of the gang wield big guns, blocking vehicles on the road while others inside the building grab all the gold. Ghost Junior grabs a phone left behind at the robbery scene, which Don Lee later uses to track his informant. One police officer spots Ghost Junior—who may not even know he’s an informant of Don Lee—and takes aim at him. But Barbarian saves Ghost Junior by shooting at the police, allowing the gang to escape. The police lose track of them.
The gang heads to their safe house and starts melting down the gold to disguise it, making it harder to get caught when selling it on the black market. Suddenly, Ah Di shoots Barbarian in the hand and forces Ghost Junior to pack all the gold. One of Ah Di’s men gets excited after Barbarian and his crew are held at gunpoint. But when he lets his guard down, Barbarian attacks, turning the situation against Ah Di. Ghost Junior decides to help Ah di, and both make a run for it, hiding from Barbarian and his men in a small room.
What happened to Ghost Junior?
Tai Ping and his remaining followers look out for Ghost Junior and Ah Di, as they betrayed the gang. Ghost Junior couldn’t escape; he was already badly hurt and exhausted. Even though Ah Di was part of the gang, she refuses to abandon Ghost Junior. She tries to fight off Tai Ping and his henchmen, but the old school chairs and tables stacked in the building slow both of them down. Ghost Junior tries to help Ah Di escape, but she just can’t make it out.
Tai Ping attacks Ghost Junior while he’s holding the door closed, trying to buy Ah Di some time. Unfortunately, Ghost Junior can’t withstand Tai Ping’s attack; he gets hit on the back of the head and loses consciousness. Already shot and stabbed, Ghost Junior starts to lose his life. Don Lee eventually tracks them down, following the trail of blood from where Ghost Junior and Ah Di had hidden themselves after fleeing the gang, but it’s too late—Ghost Junior is dead.
How have all their lives changed?
Don Lee has failed to save another informant. At least he manages to take down Tai Ping and rescue Ah Di, though she’s now in police custody. She decides not to run anymore, realizing the only person she could trust—Ghost Junior is gone. Don Lee, trying to make up for everything, uses the promised money to redeem Ghost Junior’s sister, even giving her extra to help her future. His previous informant, Jabber, is now at peace knowing Marco has finally been caught. Jabber is still confused about reality, believing a nightclub singer is his wife, but at least these delusions are less haunting than his old fears.
Don Lee lives but failed!
Don Lee is utterly defeated. He’s been losing this battle from the beginning, never able to truly fulfil his responsibilities. His wife might have at least survived if he hadn’t shown up at the dance studio. After learning that his wife is truly gone, he even tries to take his own life. He fails at everything, even at ending his own life. The loss in his personal life, combined with the losses of his informants, leaves him completely broken—there is no recovery for him.
In the end, he is led away by the police in handcuffs. It’s not fully clear why he’s being arrested, since he did capture Barbarian and his crew. Maybe it’s because he killed Tai Ping and another henchman, or maybe the system is just as broken as he is. In trying to make things right, Don Lee ends up losing what he feared losing most. His suffering isn’t just personal; it’s a symptom of a system that’s broken from within. Don Lee’s pain is part of a much larger tragedy. Because, in the end, the whole system is suffering.
