No.198 : The Whistleblower (2010)

The Whistleblower at the IMDb

Rachel Weisz stars in this bio-pic of Kathryn Bolcovac, the titular whistleblower who stood up for the trafficked women she found when working for the UN in post war Bosnia in 1999.

The films opens with two Ukrainian girls chatting in, I presume, Ukrainian. There are no subtitles and for a minute I thought I had a dud DVD, but you do manage to get an idea what’s going on. Basically one has gone to an agency and is getting her photo taken - huge red flag!

Weisz is a policewoman in Nebraska who is trying to get a transfer. She has lost a custody battle with her husband and needs to move if she is to keep in contact with her kids. The answer to her problems looks like it has arrived in the shape of a 6 month, $100k contract to work in Bosnia, following the end of the war. Her role is one of peacekeeper so she can’t always get involved in the seedy activities she sees going on.

After managing to prosecute the first case of domestic abuse in years she is spotted by boss woman Vanessa Redgrave, who gets her a promotion to head of female affairs. Meanwhile we see the Ukrainian girl from the start who is now a sex worker in a grotty bar. She and Weisz’ paths cross and, after finding a lot of Polaroids showing that UN workers are involved in all aspects of the trade, Rachel resolves to clean things up.

It’s not an easy task however, as all UN workers have diplomatic immunity and the powers that be have a desire to keep things quiet, lest the lucrative government contracts be pulled. She has brief help from Dr Strange and from David Strathearn at internal affairs, but her plans for justice are thwarted at every turn.

How far will Weisz go to save the girls and can the broken system be fixed?

This was a worthy and informative film, but one you would be hard pressed to enjoy. The treatment of women throughout is terrible with some of the extras from ‘Taken’ regularly delivering savage beatings to some dead-eyed girls. This means a lot of the film is women screaming and, although it’s doubtlessly realistic, I was worried the neighbours might call the cops on me.

Weisz is great in the lead and you can tell she is passionate about the subject of human trafficking. She doesn’t have any make up on and is usually in fatigues so you can’t say she’s in it for the glamour.

It was a clever device to follow the Ukrainian girl throughout so that we have a familiar face to empathise with. I was less keen on the several scenes where all the dialogue was in a foreign language and we had to guess what was going on.

The top level cast was mostly good, although Dr Strange and Davos Seaworth only had a couple of brief scenes each. To be fair, this film dates from 2010 so both were still early in their, soon to be stellar, careers.

The film used a largely blue and grey palette and the general mood was one of oppression and decay. It certainly suited the subject matter but, along with the brutal content, it only underlined what a depressing experience this film could be for some.

I did enjoy it, and although the captions at the end said that the problem wasn’t fixed, it was good to celebrate one woman’s efforts to right the horrible wrongs being perpetuated by those who were sent as saviours.

THE Tag Line : As Harrowing As It Should Be!   72%

No.124 : The Hit (1984)

The Hit at the IMDb

This 1984 dark comedy drama directed by Stephen Frears had passed me by, but it’s well worth checking out not least for its stellar cast and sunny locations.

The film opens with Willy Parker (Terence Stamp) being bundled from a grotty flat and into a waiting car. We learn that he’s a London villain who has turned grass against his former colleagues. Once he has finished his testimony the court descends into chaos as a chorus of ‘We’ll Meet Again’ rises up. It transpires that despite saying to barrister Jim Broadbent that he has had no inducements to give evidence Willy has accepted a cushy package from the cops which allows his a comfortable life in Spain…Until now.

It’s not clear how Willy’s remote bolt hole is discovered after 10 years, but after a small fight he’s bagged and delivered to two hit men by four Spanish youths who get a briefcase of TNT for their trouble.

The hit men, played by Tim Roth and John Hurt, tell Willy that he has an appointment in Paris with the gangland boss he grassed up. Willy appears to be at peace with his fate, but he knows that a lot can change over a 700 mile drive.

Hurt’s hit man, Braddock, is cool and lethal and says little whilst Roth’s, Myron, is more excitable and chatty. He’s been brought along on his first job and Willy starts to sow seeds of dissent that start to fester between the two killers. Various mishaps cause them to alter their plans, including a detour to Madrid that sees them pick up sexy Spaniard, Maggie.

Their adventures across country keep feeding the police enough information to keep them hot on their trail and as the net closes it’s clear that not everyone will survive the journey.

This was an enjoyable film that kept me guessing and entertained throughout. Stamp is great, playing his cheeky Cockney persona to perfection. Despite his chequered past you do root for him throughout and his mind games with the bad guys worked well. Hurt is less believable as the stone killer hit man. I think he’s too slightly built to convey much menace and looks like you could blow him over most of the time. A bleached blonde Roth is OK as the trainee assassin but I wasn't convinced about his character’s arc.

The settings and direction were good and the filmed moved at a faster pace than the lethargic hit men. The ending was somewhat nihilistic but given what had gone before it was certainly earned.

THE Tag Line - Hits the Mark!

72%

No.62 : The Guard (2011)

The Guard at the IMDb

This enjoyable comedy thriller opens as Brendan Gleeson’s jaded Irish police sergeant or ‘Guard’ sits in his police car. We quickly realise that he’s seen it all before when a car load of druggies crash in front of him without him raising an eyebrow. We also get a snapshot of his moral compass as he helps himself to the dead louts’ drugs before dumping the rest so that their mothers won’t learn of their criminal lifestyles.

The film proper opens with our man being called to a murder scene. He has in tow a young constable who would rival Father Dougal in the thickness stakes. The murder scene is peppered with clues such as a ‘5 1/2’ daubed on the wall, but while the protégé thinks it may be the work of a serial killer our man has it down as nothing more than a routine killing.

Despite a tip off the case goes cold until a visiting FBI operative briefs the Irish about a $500 million drug smuggling operation that is likely to land on their patch. Brendan enjoys ripping the piss from the buttoned up American but is taken seriously when he reveals that one of the FBI’s suspects was in fact his murder victim.

As you may guess the tight ass American and the maverick Irishman have to join forces to stop the bad guys and hopefully build some cultural and racial bridges.

Although this film has the set up of an ‘Odd Couple’ cop movie with a ‘fish out of water’ angle thrown in, it does a good job of subverting the genre and giving as some laughs along the way. There aren’t too many surprises but Gleeson’s character is a lot of fun, romping with hookers on his day off and inventing a clever way to turn the tables on a killer - oh the itch!

The American is played with some charm by Don Cheadle and although I didn’t quite buy into his character, he is likable enough to keep you invested. The intended friction between the two leads never really convinced and although frosty for five minutes you never felt that a team up and mutual respect were a long way off.

The threat element is delivered by a trio of drug lords who are more council estate than Columbia. They are lead by the always villainous Mark Strong who is as good a shot as he is a smuggler. They did have a couple of malevolent scenes, but were always just a foil for our two leads to mesh together.

The laughs are liberally sprinkled throughout and some of the second string characters are good value, especially the young lad who finds, and helps himself to, a cache of guns.

The character development was kept to a minimum and it was refreshing that Gleeson remained as boorish and un-PC throughout, despite  Don’s criticisms. The ending was left somewhat enigmatic but there was enough sown throughout the film to assume things will turn out OK.

I enjoyed this film, that offered nothing in the way of surprises but loads in terms of laughs and charm.

THE Tag Line : Guard your hookers and drugs!  72%