Rachel Weisz Anchors Melodrama of ‘The Whistleblower’

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HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 3.5/5.0
Rating: 3.5/5.0

CHICAGO – Rachel Weisz elevates the harrowing true story of “The Whistleblower,” a pull-no-punches drama about a disturbing international conspiracy to cover up a sex trafficking ring involving the men tasked with protecting the innocent who turned to exploiting them. This is a graphic, dark, violent piece of drama, as it should be given its subject matter, but it’s the work of one of our best working actresses that truly makes it worth venturing into the darkness.

“The Whistleblower” is undeniably clichéd and manipulative. But rarely has a film had a more valuable player in that the Oscar-winning Weisz anchors the generic elements of the story in such a way that it never drifts into melodrama. Yes, it would have been a far-superior film if the elements around Weisz had been as elevated as her performance but she is so believable, genuine, and restrained here in ways that other actresses never would have even considered that it makes the flaws of the film much easier to forgive. It’s one of the best performances of the year.

The Whistleblower
The Whistleblower
Photo credit: Samuel Goldwyn

Kathryn Bolkovac (Weisz) is a struggling, working mother from Nebraska who unexpectedly finds herself on the other side of the world as a part of the U.N. peacekeeping mission to Bosnia. After the carnage there, the U.N. was tasked with bringing a war-torn society back from the brink of anarchy. These men and women were sent to protect and build but some found a way to abuse and destroy. Bolkovac stumbled upon an unbelievably-disturbing sex trafficking ring, one in which women were kept as prisoners and used in unimaginable ways for the enjoyment of their male captors, including some American U.N. workers. When Bolkovac blew the whistle, she was fired. But she didn’t give up.

“The Whistleblower” could have easily played like a Lifetime TV movie of the week – the strong American woman coming to the rescue of the downtrodden foreigners and bringing justice to a few deserving men at the same time. And, to be honest, there are elements of the dialogue that feel particularly TV-movie-esque. And, as if to make sure their theatrical credibility stays intact, there are a few scenes that would make Eli Roth shiver in disgust. This is a brutal story about levels of physical abuse that most of us don’t want to even imagine much less see on-screen. It’s a credit to director Larysa Kondracki that she refuses to pull any punches in her storytelling, not turning a tale of human torture into something easy to swallow. It shouldn’t be easy to swallow.

And yet there are elements in “The Whistleblower” that are too broad. We’re constantly reminded that Kathryn is a mother, as if she wouldn’t care about these tortured girls if she didn’t have that maternal instinct. That’s silly. And great actors like Vanessa Redgrave, David Strathairn, and Monica Bellucci pop up in small roles that are largely devices. We learn very little about anybody but Kathryn.

The Whistleblower
The Whistleblower
Photo credit: Samuel Goldwyn

Thank God for Rachel Weisz. She is consistently interesting in “The Whistleblower,” giving a performance with real weight and gravity instead of pure melodrama. She has that ability to sell the moment on-screen as if it’s happening to her for the first time without the artifice of performance. There’s a scene in a bar late in the film in which 99 out of 100 actresses would have dipped into the deep well of melodrama but Weisz doesn’t lose her believability. She gives a great performance in a good movie.

The story of Kathryn Bolkovac is one worth hearing and one that should have been brought to a wider audience by our horrendously inept media. She was a brave, strong woman and she should thank the movie Gods that an actress was hired who knew how to do her story justice.

“The Whistleblower” stars Rachel Weisz, Vanessa Redgrave, David Strathairn, and Monica Bellucci. It was written by Larysa Kondracki & Eilis Kirwan and directed by Kondracki. It was released in theaters on August 12th, 2011 and is rated R.

HollywoodChicago.com content director Brian Tallerico

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

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