Whistle

A short 30-minute film from the director of MOON (2009) found among the bonus material on the latter's Special Edition DVD from Sony; a bit slow to start as it depicts the dreary off-hours of an ultra-technological hit-man but the viewer's interest is elevated once he becomes 'involved' in the life of one of his victims. Again, hardly an original concept in itself, but what is interesting here is the fact that the hit-man's wife is not only fully cognizant of her hubby's day job but she is also the cold-blooded contact with his bosses when the conscience crisis sets in! I do not know if it was intentional or not but I found the preposterous nature of the killings – the hit-man uses a bulky contraption in his balcony to shoot his intended victims over great distances! – to be quite amusing (while also turning the film into borderline sci-fi territory).

I recently watched Duncan Jones' first full-length film, "Moon" and I was exceptionally impressed. The film was extremely inventive, unique and was amazing to look at considering it had a minuscule budget AND was set on the moon! So, when I noticed that "Whistle" was included as a bonus on the DVD, I was excited to watch it too.

The film begins with a British family relocating to another country (it looks like Switzerland to me). The wife did not like the move and you wonder why the husband would do this. Then, you slowly start to realize--he's an assassin! Now you never are sure WHO he works for, but you can assume he's not just some mercenary--as he DOES have a conscience. And, that's the problem--because one of his killings goes terribly wrong...and he cannot live with himself. What's next? See the short film.

The story is exciting, interesting and is very, very impressive considering Duncan Jones was inexperienced when he made this film. Taken along with "Moon", he is definitely a man to watch. And, incidentally, he's the son of David Bowie (whose real last name is Jones). Well worth seeing.

Duncan Jones's 'Whistle' tells an amusing little tale of a hit-man using ultra high-tech to complete his missions. The plot may appear a little contrived (it's only thirty minutes long) but it still manages to engage and entertain. The main concept is barely original but the idea of using high-tech and I thought the cold relationship between the husband and wife was interesting as it sort of adds up in the end. The acting is adequate. Jones's special effects are minimal but effective nonetheless. The gadgets and gizmos look very real. Jones also seems to know how to use music in a film because the soundtrack here is outstanding. With his first film, he already shows a lot of promise and, last year, with his first major feature film, Jones proves that he's here to stay.

Included as an extra on the DVD of Moon, this earlier short from director Duncan Jones sees British high-tech assassin Ryan (Dominic Mafham) settling down with his wife and son in Switzerland, where he continues his nefarious work using satellite computer imaging to locate his targets and long-range, laser-sighted weaponry to bump them off. When his latest hit goes awry, killing not only the intended victim but his young daughter too, Ryan develops a conscience and leaves home to speak to the dead man's wife. In doing so, he breaks protocol and compromises the security of his family and his superior. As a result, the assassin finds himself targeted by his own deadly gadgetry, his impending fate signaled by a high pitched whistle (either that or someone left a kettle on the hob).

Jones's lack of experience (this was his first time behind the camera) results in a film that is very rough around the edges, with poor storytelling and weak performances (Mafham makes for a forgettable lead) not exactly helping an already far-fetched premise. Moon was a definitely a 'giant leap' for the director, who has since gone on to direct three more features that I have yet to see. I sincerely hope they showed signs of further improvement, because his next film is an adaptation of 2000 A.D. comic strip Rogue Trooper, and I REALLY don't want him to mess that up.