By the time Larysa Kondracki’s The Whistleblower hits theaters this August it will almost mark one year since I saw the film at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival, but the timing makes sense as it includes an Oscar-level performance from Rachel Weisz, which I mentioned in my review, even though I wasn’t exactly enamored with the film. Here’s a snippet:
Not too far into The Whistleblower I was ready to chalk it up as another “inspired by a true story” feature wallowing in the misfortune of others as one person faces hardship in the face of many to set things right. It’s a familiar narrative that doesn’t make a film of this nature anything special and, for the most part, The Whistleblower is merely mediocre. But Rachel Weisz delivers a starring turn that gets better and better as the film wears on providing one reason for praise.
[…]
As the stakes get raised the movie improves, primarily based on Weisz’s performance. Weisz is the only thing that keeps it going and in a scene late in the picture she really goes for it and lands a blow that elevates this film above its average origins, but she can’t deliver an overall saving grace.
Of course, people challenged my review as they saw it at subsequent film festivals telling me how great the film is and then, like me, praising Weisz’s performance. Thing is, yes, Weisz gives an Oscar nomination worthy performance, but the film itself didn’t really do it for me.
The story, as is mentioned in the blurb from my review, is inspired by the true story of Kathryn Bolkovac (Rachel Weisz), a female Nebraska police officer turned Bosnian peacekeeper, who uncovers a disturbing sex-trafficking underworld and its shocking connection to the UN.
You can check out the trailer directly below and look for this one on August 5. It’s not a bad film by any means and it contains one of the best female performances you’re likely to see this year.
