The Whistle Blower (1987)

I love this movie so much

Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

The Whistle Blower is a very realistic spy movie. The events depicted including the assassination techniques are true to the time depicted. Carbon Monoxide poisoning was the preferred US technique because suicides were not investigated by insurance companies. This film is in the same class as Three Days of the Condor, The Quiller Memorandum and Tinker Tailor. These films are as relevant today as they were during the cold war. These films are for intelligent(ce) people unlike the fast action movie spy films which are just teenage fantasy.My home town is Cheltenham and this film captures the cold war period perfectly for authenticity.

Michael Caine plays Frank Jones, a war veteran and patriotic British citizen who is shocked to learn about the mysterious death of his son, who had worked as a Russian translator for British Intelligence. Frank reluctantly becomes convinced that his own government had his son killed because he was going to "blow the whistle" on illegal and unethical behavior by his employers. Not deterred by the usual "national security" defense of the killers, Frank is determined to bring his son's killers to justice, whether it be by legal or illegal means...First-rate conspiracy drama has fine acting by all, and Caine quite believable as the grieving and outraged father. Film makes thoughtful observations about government secrets, and the "who watches the watchers?" debate. Worth seeking out.

The Whistle Blower is not generally a great favourite of the critics, and is one of those small budget films that BBC2 used to show late at night - a typical Caine schedule filler, in fact. I recall seeing the movie some time in the early nineties, but to be honest I have always been fond of it. Caine's performance here is brilliant, and if this movie really is classed by many as one of those typically weak eighties Caine features, then surely the critics will acknowledge that in the bulk of those films, a fifty-something Caine was pretty much without blame. The most powerful example of this is when Caine is informed of the sudden tragic death of his son. As he plays a hard edged ex-serviceman, he is of course made of the proverbial stiff upper lip, but his reaction to the untimely news about his loss is a real lesson in reaction acting, which Caine has always favoured over the years. I always liked the parts Caine played throughout his fifties - I felt he displayed a real maturity and as an actor appeared to reach the peak of his career. I suppose this is why it's even more impressive that he continued - if not bettered - that fact in his sixties and seventies. So, this is typical eighties-Caine territory. Low budget British movie peppered with familiar faces from the British acting fraternity, all of them seemingly amazed at the chance to appear in a proper movie alongside the guv'nor. Set and filmed around Cheltenham, Caine really does carry this movie. Nigel Havers (as Caine's son) looks like a Harry Palmer love child, but is not challenged in his role, whilst Gordon Jackson and James Fox stereotype their way through the picture as high ranking secret servicemen. John Gielgud and Kenneth Colley are also used sparingly, but such is the quality of the supporting cast, they all beef up what could easily have been a terribly dull escapade. And let's not forget Barry Foster, 'victim' of being done up like a kipper by Caine in one of the infamous 'drunk' scenes. By 1986, no-one played drunks better than Caine, and he seemed to be so good at it that a number of his movies became worth watching just for their scenes where he successfully played a character pretending to be drunk one minute then stone cold sober the next. He pitches his performance perfectly here, and fortunately everyone seems to deliver - the potential pretentiousness (that doesn't roll easily off the tongue) of the movie is identifiable in most scenes - like quiet flames licking their way at the edge of each frame, but the calibre of the Caine inspired cast make this film easy on the eye. True, there are some highly corny moments, and many spy clichés are rolled out mercilessly (usually involving a traitor declaring his love for Russia) but the chief protagonists are clearly giving it their all, and I just happen to like this movie a lot. I think it's really because Caine is so accomplished at his task, that his confidence on screen carries you with it, and whilst it's obviously made on a budget of about eight quid, that still doesn't mean it can't deliver.

The Whistle Blower tells a story which is likely to be obsolete nowadays. The end of the cold war rendered stories of this nature difficult to perceive but was written at a time when relations between the US and USSR were strained and scandals were rife in British Intelligence and at GCHQ.The film tells the story of a jittery secret service heavily reliant on American information to help keep the soviets at bay. It demonstrates how the service would have reacted to the allegation that there were soviet agents within organisations such as GCHQ and how they may have been dealt with. The eventual reasoning is cruel and cold and leaves the watcher wondering if events like this really did take place at the time.The Whistle Blower tells a good story which is easy to follow and comprehend. It is bolstered by a good cast but let down by poor direction making it staid in places.