‘Klokkenluider’ is the Flemish word for ‘whistle-blower’ and this film by actor-turned-director Neil Maskell is a darkly comic thriller celebrates those who fly under the radar.
It’s 2014 and British IT guy Ewan (Amit Shah) has seen something on a UK government-owned computer that wasn’t meant for his eyes. He and his idealistic Belgian spouse Silke (Sura Dohnke), decide to share that information with a broadsheet newspaper.
Not wanting to be arrested, or bumped off, the couple invent a cover story and rent a ridiculously big house, in the Belgian countryside. Protection arrives, in the form of two security guards, terse Chris (Tom Burke) and garrulous Glynn (Roger Evans).
Evans gives a staggeringly knotty performance for a character that looks as innocently unhinged as Jackie Coogan’s Uncle Fester, gulps wine at every opportunity and has a special cushion for when he gets too angry. Constantly needled by the patronising Chris, Glynn finally loses the plot during a game of charades, to gasp-inducing effect.
Maskell (based in Antwerp with Dohnke, his real-life wife) will be familiar to many for his acting work. For fans of Kill List, Happy New Year, Colin Burstead and recent Apple TV+ show Hijack opposite Idris Elba, the 47-year-old’s writing and directing debut is well worth checking out.
He finds ingenious angles on the material. Overhead shots, in particular, give us a sense of Ewan and Silke’s frailty. By the way, did Maskell cast his actor spouse in a plum role...
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