Klokkenluider

A very slight film, with a weak screenplay, that seems to do no more than ask the question; "When in an unfamiliar situation, who should you trust?"

It's described as a "darkly comic, character-driven thriller", but it is dialogue heavy and action light and feels much more plot-driven.

Looking back at the actions of the characters, only Flo's behaviour seemed to make sense with the benefit of hindsight.

This film might make you think, "What would I do if I were in the same position as Ewan and Silke?" But that is little reward for spending 90 minutes of your time watching such a poorly written film.

First-time writer-director Neil Maskell made his reputation (well, with me, at least) via his acting work with British indie film-maker Ben Wheatley and this 2022 debut certainly has some of the traits (dark offbeat humour and the threat of violence, essentially) of Wheatley's best work. The central premise here of the importance and potential jeopardy of whistle-blowers is, of course, increasingly topical and, via some intriguing cinematography (slo-mo, interesting angles, dynamic hand-held, etc.) and an unnerving sound design, Maskell builds tangible tension and dread.

The director also struck gold with his casting (attracted by his Wheatley work?) as we follow married couple Amit Shah's government IT guy, Ewan, and his wife Sura Dohnke's Belgian Silke, holed up in Silke's home country and joined by twin 'protectors' (supposedly hired by the newspaper buying the whistle-blowers' story), Tom Burke's softly spoken (a trait of the actor, of course), level-headed, Ewan, and Roger Evans' troubled, volatile Glynn.

It's undoubtedly a stylish, brooding affair in which the ('dystopian') uncertainty around what exactly the whistle-blowers know is (wisely) left unsaid, whilst their paranoia builds to an almost unbearable pitch - largely fuelled by the offputtingly semi-comic pair of 'protectors' and then brought into further focus by the arrival of Jenna Coleman's (in a near film-stealing cameo) foul-mouthed journalist, Flo. The main theme here of the seeming need to conform to the prevailing 'political doctrine' - whether in 'the West' or elsewhere - and not to 'blab' about anything untoward (as Burke's Ewan says at one point, 'I don't think anything') is not exactly original but is convincingly depicted by Maskell. Perhaps my only reservation is that I would have preferred the 'uncertainty' to have held until the final reel - as opposed to the more definitive denouement that Maskell chose.

In terms of comparators, aside from the Wheatley influence and the oft-quoted In Bruges, dark comedies abound these days, of course, particularly on TV along the lines of Guilt, Boat Story, Back to Life, I May Destroy You, etc. I even thought of a feature length episode of the marvellous Inside No. 9. Whatever, Maskell has shown enough promise here to warrant a 'follow' on his career.

Impressive. Not an inch - or centimeter of excess fat in an impressive directorial debut. The writing is tight, no words wasted. The cast delivers - no surprises there, each playing their part to perfection. Kudos to the sound and lighting, both adding to a story that unfolds gradually, taking its time as it does. What's the secret? The clue is in the last words spoken, although that could be just paranoia on my part. But then again, you never know. Or do you? I liked this. A late night offering on Channel 4, totally bereft of caped crusaders and CGI. The Belgian actress should get in front of the camera more; she's a natural.

This is a wet dream of a film for the conspiracy theorists amongst us! "Ewan" (Amit Shah) and his wife "Silke" (Sura Dohnke) are holed up in a rather nice lakeside house in Flanders. They are awaiting the arrival of a journalist to whom they are going to impart some fairly startling information - for a fee, of course. It's so significant that the newspaper sends two minders - "Glynn" (Roger Evans) and "Chris" (Tom Burke) to keep an eye on them. Now these two have worked together for quite a while, but the latter man is eyeing up a career move to the middle east - and he's not necessarily looking to take his mate with him. Over the next 24 hours of their incarceration, we learn a little of the characteristics of these four flawed individuals, and perhaps those who can lip-read might get a clue as to the nature of the big secret! The arrival of foul-mouthed junior journalist "Flo" gives Jenna Coleman a couple of scenes to brings things to an head and deliver a quirky denouement to this lightly, but darkly, comedic shorter drama. For me, the stars are an on-form Evans who delivers well as the Welshman with a few demons to deal with, and Shah who plays the hapless IT geek who takes paranoia to an whole new level. Apparently the title means "whistleblower". It's enjoyable, this film.

First of all, can we commend the amazing use of sound in this film? The deep contrasts between loud and quiet is so impactful. Really kept my senses perked the whole time.

Secondly, although the story is quite slow-paced, it kept engaged the ENTIRE film. Didn't lose its grip once. The great use of sound had a lot to do with it.

The conversation was minimalistic, but not boring - on the contrary, it was intriguing and made you want to know more.

The story itself is thought-provoking, and left me with a lot to ponder about at the end. I found it especially fascinating how much and how little we get all at same time.