These days it's become a rarity to find a political thriller that is intelligent, intense and intriguing. So when one like The Whistleblower comes along, I find no trouble in treasuring every moment of it. Rachel Weisz stars as the titular pot-boiler who uncovers a sex trafficking ring while working as a peacekeeper in Bosnia. Based on a true story, she turns over some dirty rocks and a lot of people start to get very angry. This leads to a very tense race to discover the truth and find someone willing to help her bring down these horrible men before they get to her. There's a subplot with Monica Bellucci's character that is a little dull and eventually inconsequential, but when the Weisz side of things is so gripping, it's easy to look past.
The story here is strong and every moment, especially in the final act, breathes with a wicked intensity that keeps you on your toes, but the real driving force of the film is Weisz. For some reason it seems like it's pretty hard for films to present female characters who are strong and firm in their beliefs without turning them into unbearable stereotypes. This year though we've experienced an influx of great ones that come off as genuine human beings and Weisz's Kathryn Bolkavac is another to add to the list. Especially given the fact that she plays a woman who is being constantly attacked and undermined by everyone around her, a role that opens itself up to melodramatic hysterics pretty easily. Weisz had to hit this balance of strength and broken hopelessness without going too far to make it unrealistic, and she hits every note necessary.
There's one scene later in the film that really stands as a measure to the power of her performance. Bolkavac gets within an inch of freeing these girls and exposing the truth, when out of nowhere the rug is pulled out from under her and things look worse than ever. She bursts into tears, desperate for some way out of this situation; everything she was fighting for was right in her grasp and she just gets it ripped out of her hand like two kids fighting over a toy on Christmas. This moment would have been difficult for most actors, but Weisz has matured into one of our finest performers and she doesn't phase for a second. She could have easily slipped into unintentionally comedic melodrama but instead she brings down the house and almost brought a tear to my eye. It's a devastating moment in one of the strongest, most commanding performances of the year so far. A superb performance in a taut, intelligent thriller.
The story here is strong and every moment, especially in the final act, breathes with a wicked intensity that keeps you on your toes, but the real driving force of the film is Weisz. For some reason it seems like it's pretty hard for films to present female characters who are strong and firm in their beliefs without turning them into unbearable stereotypes. This year though we've experienced an influx of great ones that come off as genuine human beings and Weisz's Kathryn Bolkavac is another to add to the list. Especially given the fact that she plays a woman who is being constantly attacked and undermined by everyone around her, a role that opens itself up to melodramatic hysterics pretty easily. Weisz had to hit this balance of strength and broken hopelessness without going too far to make it unrealistic, and she hits every note necessary.
There's one scene later in the film that really stands as a measure to the power of her performance. Bolkavac gets within an inch of freeing these girls and exposing the truth, when out of nowhere the rug is pulled out from under her and things look worse than ever. She bursts into tears, desperate for some way out of this situation; everything she was fighting for was right in her grasp and she just gets it ripped out of her hand like two kids fighting over a toy on Christmas. This moment would have been difficult for most actors, but Weisz has matured into one of our finest performers and she doesn't phase for a second. She could have easily slipped into unintentionally comedic melodrama but instead she brings down the house and almost brought a tear to my eye. It's a devastating moment in one of the strongest, most commanding performances of the year so far. A superb performance in a taut, intelligent thriller.