The Whistle Blower (DVD)

...as a GCHQ translator during the economic troubles of the eighties. Bob, however, is less sure that he wants the job - he suspects that something is afoot in his organisation that could have serious repercussions for the world at large. Then Bob is found dead, having apparently thrown himself from the top of his apartment building. Frank is immediately suspicious; even more so when every attempt he makes to find out what is going on is thwarted by ...
...which more or less parallels the rather boring storyline, but once his son has died, Caine comes into his own. His cold fury at what may have happened to his son is mesmerising, particularly as his eyes constantly seem to glitter with tears. At the same time, it is not a role that will have pushed Caine all that much - he has done so many similar performances and in a few month's time, I'm sure I will be hard-pushed to remember all that much about ... more

Frank Jones is very proud of his son, Bob, who has managed to hold on to his job as a GCHQ translator during the economic troubles of the eighties. Bob, however, is less sure that he wants the job - he suspects that something is afoot in his organisation that could have serious repercussions for the world at large. Then Bob is found dead, having apparently thrown himself from the top of his apartment building. Frank is immediately suspicious; even more so when every attempt he makes to find out what is going on is thwarted by government officials. Will Frank be able to follow the traces of intrigue that Bob has left? And will he be able to do anything with what he finds there?

Michael Caine has made many films in his illustrious career, not all of which have been anything to write home about. As Frank Jones though, I think this is definitely one of his better performances. He starts off fairly nondescriptly, which more or less parallels the rather boring storyline, but once his son has died, Caine comes into his own. His cold fury at what may have happened to his son is mesmerising, particularly as his eyes constantly seem to glitter with tears. At the same time, it is not a role that will have pushed Caine all that much - he has done so many similar performances and in a few month's time, I'm sure I will be hard-pushed to remember all that much about this one. That does, however, have as much to do with the dullness of the story as it does Caine's acting.

I was pleasantly surprised to see Nigel Havers as Bob Jones, looking suave and sophisticated, just as I remember him. It soon transpires that Bob is not that sophisticated; at least, he may be intelligent, but he doesn't have that much in the way of common sense. Havers pulls this off without any great difficulty. The problem I had was that, although there are about sixteen years between Michael Caine and Nigel Havers, the gap seems much less, and I struggled to believe that they were father and son. This wouldn't have been a problem had I had more to occupy me, but unfortunately with this film, I didn't.

There is a whole host of other famous British actors, which was a little off-putting at times, and I found my mind wandering. Gordon Jackson appears as a secret agent, and James Fox and John Gielgud have roles as high-ranking government officials. Barry Foster, who I remember from the Van Der Walk series, plays Frank's friend Charles Greig. None of these roles particularly stand out though, and frankly they could have been played by anyone, so I felt it was rather a waste of their combined talent.

The plot, when it finally gets going, is a good one and, had the film been made differently, it could have been much better than the finished product. My main problem with it is that the first hour is very slow moving and involves lots of whispered conversations in strange places that are being listened to back at GCHQ or wherever these secret agents were from. I am sure that director, Simon Langton, was trying to set the scene so that the action, when it happens, doesn't need much explanation. However, I found it all a little bit dull and didn't really begin to take interest until Bob's death, which is a good way into the film.

If I'm being honest, even when the film did get going, it wasn't much more than of passing interest to me, and I think that if Michael Caine didn't give the good performance that he does, I would have switched off. Thankfully, despite the slow start, the director saw fit to cap the film at 100 minutes, so I just about managed to get through it. I have to admit, however, that this genre, which I suppose is a spy thriller, is not really my cup of tea. I doubt very much that it will appeal to those who can't remember the Cold War either - this film was made towards the end of the Cold War when conspiracy theories prevailed and Communists rather than Muslim extremists were our enemy. I suppose it does have some bearing on modern day politics, but when there are much better films out there that deal with the topic, I can't see why this one would really capture anyone's attention.

I was given this DVD - I think it came free with a Sunday paper - so I can't really complain too much. I certainly would if I had paid for it. It isn't really a bad film, it just didn't really reach out and grab my attention either, and suspect I will remember it hereafter as one of Michael Caine's lesser-known films. That's a shame, because he did give a good performance. If you have an interest in the Cold War or absolutely must see every film that Caine appears in, then you should probably take the time to watch this. Otherwise, I don't think it's worth bothering with. Not recommended.

The DVD is available from play.com for £1.20.

Classification: PG

Running time: 100 minutes 

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