Kondracki and Eilis Kirwan wrote the screenplay, which was inspired by the story of Kathryn Bolkovac, a Nebraska police officer who was recruited as a United Nations peacekeeper for DynCorp International in post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1999.

Kondracki said that the facts are broadly accurate, but some details were omitted for the film; for example, a three-week "breaking-in" period for trafficking victims was not shown.

[6] After successfully advocating for a Muslim woman who experienced domestic abuse, Kathryn is appointed head of the department of gender affairs.

While investigating their case, Kathryn uncovers a large-scale sexual slavery ring utilized by international personnel (including Americans).

However, she finds allies in her investigation: Madeleine Rees, head of the Human Rights Commission, and internal-affairs specialist Peter Ward.

As her investigation continues, Kathryn is met with threats on her answering machine and dead ends when highers-up override and close all the Internal Affairs cases.

The final credits note that after Kathryn's departure, a number of peacekeepers were sent home (although none faced criminal charges because of immunity laws), and the U.S. continues doing business with private contractors like Democra Security (including billion-dollar contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan).

The Whistleblower is based on the experiences of Kathryn Bolkovac, an American police officer who in 1999 was assigned to serve as a peacekeeper with the United Nations in post-war Bosnia.

[7] Director Larysa Kondracki and co-screenwriter Eilis Kirwan learned of Bolkovac's story while attending Columbia University, eight years before the film's production.

[6] Vanessa Redgrave played Madeleine Rees, a UN human-rights official ("one of the film's few heroic characters") who helps Bolkovac uncover the sex trade.

[9] For legal reasons the pseudonym "Democra Security" was used for DynCorp International, the organization whose employees reportedly sexually enslaved the women.

[21] However, the producers wanted the audience to be affected by scenes depicting brutal treatment of the women forced into prostitution, and the character of Raya was created to give a human face to the victims.

[8] Film critic Rex Reed said that the abuse of power featured prominently in The Whistleblower; a number of government officials participate in the sex trade or turn a blind eye to it[24] (including peacekeepers, UN members and mercenaries).

She said, "There are clear and vivid monsters in this film, but there are also those existing in the shades-of-gray middle, nice-enough guys tolerating crimes of unspeakable barbarity.

[8] Her flaws are offset by her determination to fight the sex trade, and reviewers found these aspects instrumental in making her a three-dimensional character.

[19][24] Weisz compared Bolkovac's story of "one lone woman fighting injustice" to that of David and Goliath, her favorite film genre.

[30] The Guardian's Ed Vulliamy called The Whistleblower "the most searing drama-documentary of recent years",[10] and The Huffington Post's Marshall Fine said the story was "dark, grim, and harrowing".

[31] Doris Toumarkine of Film Journal International called the movie a "well-told but troubling story impressively wrapped for audiences who show up in theatres for do-good cinema of a high order".

[32] Stephenie Foster of The Huffington Post gave the film a highly-favorable review: It's a compelling and maddening story, and reflects the complexity of how international institutions function and interact and the difficulty of accountability in a situation where people have immunity for their actions.

Club gave The Whistleblower a negative review, criticizing the producers for making its antagonists one-dimensional: "There's no hint of the erosion of morality that led to this point.

"[35] Peter Rainer of The Christian Science Monitor called the film's pace "frustratingly uneven", but commended the actors' performances: Condurache "makes Raya's fears tremblingly palpable".

Camerin Courtney of Christianity Today was dismayed that the main character engaged in a sexual relationship with a married man, but Weisz "is wonderful as Bolkovac, a no-nonsense civil servant who is stunned at what she walks into" while "Vanessa Redgrave is a needed touch of strength and warmth as her mentor Madeleine, and David Strathairn is at his government thriller best as Peter Ward, an Internal Affairs agent.

"[37] Steve Rea of The Post and Courier praised Redgrave's acting in the supporting role of Madeleine Rees as "forceful, elegant, precise".

[16] Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle said, "Weisz gives a psychologically astute performance as a woman who can't leave things alone.

"[40] Christian Hamaker of Crosswalk.com wrote: The film is almost unremittingly grim, which may seem appropriate for such a horrifying subject, but the effect on the viewer is that of being struck repeatedly with a sledgehammer.

"[42] Later, when Bolkovac spoke at a screening of the film in Bosnia, it was reported that her message was well-received and discussion about the events that occurred in the late 1990s "did not fail to engage and provoke".

[10][43] The movie was reportedly more successful on Blu-ray Disc than in theatres, and film critic Lynette Porter said that the subject's serious nature made it better suited for television.

[26] Consistent with Bolkovac's account, The Whistleblower portrays DynCorp International employees as participants in the postwar Bosnian sex trade with the UN turning a blind eye.

"[10] Kondracki added that while she wanted to be optimistic and hoped that the screening would "lead to genuine discussion and thought about the UN's involvement in sex trafficking and other crimes", she worried that it might not have the desired lasting impact: "I know we are going to hear a lot about what has been done since the time depicted in this film, but rhetoric only goes so far.

Following the theatrical release of The Whistleblower, The Guardian reported that other UN officials attempted to downplay the events depicted and that initiatives against trafficking in Bosnia were aborted.