Wednesday, April 16, 2014

The Whistleblower (2010)


IMDb plot summary: A drama based on the experiences of Kathryn Bolkovac, a Nebraska cop who served as a peacekeeper in post-war Bosnia and outed the U.N. for covering up a sex scandal.
Directed by Larysa Kondracki. Starring Rachel Weisz, Vanessa Redgrave, Monica Bellucci and David Strathairn.

Although a large portion of this movie is dedicated to a tedious-for-me police procedural, what makes it work is Rachel Weisz's performance and a satisfyingly cinematic ending. Weisz plays her character with both great compassion and great strength, a combination that can be hard to find in thrillers with female protagonists. She was worth watching even when the spy paranoia thriller-type stuff wasn't capturing my attention. Probably worth it for fans of the genre.

(Fun story: This was on my Netflix watchlist, and when I started watching it I couldn't figure out why I had added it because it didn't seem at all like the type of movie I'd want to watch, and then Benedict Cumberbatch showed up for about 30 seconds and I was like, "Oh. That's why.")

2 stars.

Flickchart: #1180 out of 2105, below The Room and above Horton Hears a Who.

2 comments:

Katy said...

The Whistleblower is on my Netflix too. Nice review, though I might still check it out for Rachel Weisz. :)

Hannah K said...

It expires from Netflix Instant in the next month, so if you want to catch it, make sure you do it soon! That's actually why I watched it when I did. I saw the "expiring soon" notice on it.