The Playlist Informs On You: 16 Notable Whistleblower Movies

05.08.11

” So what makes these stories of insider dealing and clandestine informing so compelling? Is it the device, the drama, the tangled web our heroes weave when they, essentially, diverge a start up spy against the institution that has until then courted and counted on their loyalty? Is it the incentive to be gleaned from the moral that one right-thinking person de facto can make a difference, despite insuperable odds, if they have the asset of character? Or is it, simply, that as scandals break around us every day, and as our promise in old institutions (the banks, the church, the government, the media) is ever more eroded we look to the movies to demand cinematic justice and accountability where too often none exists in legitimate life. These are stories in which individuals make strapping choices, listen to their consciences and pick sides, often risking vital spark, limb and the good opinion of the people they admiration—whether a whistleblower is a hero or a rat depends, after all, on your malapropos of view. We may believe less than ever in the benevolence of corporations, organizations and the power-wielding elite, but as extensive as there are Davids who take on these Goliaths, whatever the cost and whatever the outcome, there is still ambition.

terry car seat cover: Indie Wire (blog)