Whistleblower (Unitel Productions, Quento Media, 2016) may not be as dramatically coherent or gripping, but its revelations are, if anything, more devastating and far more immediate than the dirty deeds uncovered in most political dramas. For all its high-mindedness, the screenplay by Rody Vera lurches between shrill editorializing and vagueness while sorting through more characters than it can comfortably handle or even readily identify. Nora Aunor, as always is an engaging presence, she excels in socially and politically conscious roles, yet her natural strength is blunted by the script’s numerous weaknesses. As written, Zeny Roblado is hopelessly out of her depth. Cherry Pie Picahe is sensational as Lorna Valera. She holds the ground in a performance of ferocity and feeling. For a movie about victims trapped in an unjust system, Whistleblower is surprisingly vague when it comes to procedural detail. Corruption is everywhere. Unfortunately, director Adolfo Alix, Jr overplays his hand. He fails to maintain a consistent tone. The movie never develops any dramatic momentum or pull. It swings from melodrama to sermonizing, both blunting the human drama that needs to come to the fore. Whistleblower is just a procession of scenarios and discoveries, capped off by a wildly frustrating ending.
The film is kind of an interesting viewing experience in high definition. There's an almost dowdy aspect (for lack of a better term) to the palette here with an emphasis on browns and grays that keeps things from ever really popping in any meaningful way. Alix and cinematographer Albert Banzon have also toyed with the image at times, offering what often looks at least slightly desaturated (and at times more than merely slightly), as well as adding intentional distressing to the flashback scenes. The presentation here is always beautifully organic, detail levels are routinely high even given the surplus of rather dimly lit interior environments. Whistleblower's PCM track is often surprisingly immersive, given the dialogue heavy emphasis of the film. Jessie Lasaten's pulsing score fills the front channels quite nicely throughout, with a number of well done effects. Several outdoor scenes also offer good placement of ambient environmental effects. Dialogue is always rendered cleanly and clearly on this enjoyable if often quite subtly designed track. Whistleblower could use some narrative tightening, but it avoids most of the usual didactic pitfalls and makes its case while being entertaining and emotionally powerful. The film looks and sounds excellent on high definition, but I'm not so sure it's something you'd want to watch repeatedly.
Sound Design: Alexander Red
Music By: Jessie Lasaten
Edited By: Ike Veneracion, Aleks Castañeda
Director of Photography: Albert Banzon, FCS
Production Designer: Gerry Santos
Written By: Rody Vera
Directed By: Adolfo B. Alix, Jr.
