Chicago – I have a sneaking suspicion that if The Weinstein Company had acquired this film and released it during the 2011 awards season, Rachel Weisz would currently be an Oscar nominee. After playing an assortment of vulnerable, photogenic damsels throughout her career, Weisz delivers her most potent and compelling work to date in Larysa Kondracki’s fact-based thriller.
Though the actress has won an Oscar before, it was for her rather thankless role in Fernando Meirelles’s downbeat drama, “The Constant Gardener.” “The Whistleblower” functions as a smart follow-up to Alejandro Amenábar’s equally overlooked 2009 gem, “Agora,” in which Weisz played another strong-willed rebel who risked everything in pursuit of the truth. Both Hypatia in “Agora” and Kathryn Bolkovac in “The Whistleblower” are empowering figures with unsettling life stories that hit all too close to home.
DVD Rating: 3.5/5.0
Despite some narrative contrivances and a manipulative third-act twist, Kondracki’s film is...
Though the actress has won an Oscar before, it was for her rather thankless role in Fernando Meirelles’s downbeat drama, “The Constant Gardener.” “The Whistleblower” functions as a smart follow-up to Alejandro Amenábar’s equally overlooked 2009 gem, “Agora,” in which Weisz played another strong-willed rebel who risked everything in pursuit of the truth. Both Hypatia in “Agora” and Kathryn Bolkovac in “The Whistleblower” are empowering figures with unsettling life stories that hit all too close to home.
DVD Rating: 3.5/5.0
Despite some narrative contrivances and a manipulative third-act twist, Kondracki’s film is...
- 2/7/2012
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Andrei Alexandru / Samuel Goldwyn Films Amid all the summer blockbusters about aliens, cowboys, and little blue creatures, a movie about human trafficking might seem rather out of place. But director/co-writer Larysa Kondracki's The Whistleblower, based on a true story, isn't just a heartrending look at young girls being forced into the sex trade; it's a suspense-filled tale of government corruption, political intrigue, and diplomatic cover-ups. The Whistleblower features Vanessa Redgrave, Monica Bellucci, and John Sayles favorite David Strathairn, in addition to star Rachel Weisz as Kathy Bolkovac, a Nebraska police officer and single mother who is offered a high-paying contract position as a peacekeeper in post-war Bosnia. Under the auspices of the United Nations, Kathy is assigned to monitor international law in the region, especially in regards to women. What begins as an investigation of local brothels blows up into something much bigger - with U.N. personnel complicit,...
- 8/2/2011
- TribecaFilm.com
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