I Witness (2003) Reviews

• What happened to this movie? It's really good...

  snake772006-07-18

  Spotted this DVD on eBay and bought it on the cheap from someone in the UK. Watched it last night and all I can say is what a great surprise! This is a really well done political thriller in the tradition of Traffic. Daniels, Spader, de Rossi, and especially Clifton Collins do some terrific acting. The direction is tight, the story is interesting, the political angle is provocative, the Mexican sets are authentic. All in all a very good film for what was obviously a smallish budget. Why this movie isn't on video in the US (was it ever shown in a theater?) is beyond me. Especially considering all the crap that IS on video. Does anyone know what happened to this movie?

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• The Wonderful Surprise of the Year: An Excellent and Very Realistic Thriller, Having the Style of Costa-Gravas Movies

  claudio_carvalho2004-01-31

  In Tijuana, Mexico, near to the border with USA, James Rhodes (the excellent Jeff Daniels) is a member of the Human Rights organization, working as an observer of the election of the workers of an American company, represented by the member of U.S. Government Emily Thompson (Portia de Rossi). The local workers are supposed to decide whether they want the union in the company or not. Meanwhile, twenty-seven bodies of humble people are found buried in an abandoned tunnel, drilled in the past by the lord of the drugs Voltan. In the same day, two young American are killed while driving their motorcycles off-road, in a track in a desert area. These events apparently not related are investigated by Claudio Castillo (Clifton Collins Jr.), a honest detective from Mexican homicide department, pressed by James and his superiors. Voltan is blamed for all the deaths, and resolves to help indirectly James in his investigation. Douglas Draper (James Spader) is a cynical liaison of the American police force, working together with the corrupt Captain Madrid (Jordi Caballero). The conclusion of this realistic story is full of revelations of dirty secrets. This movie was the wonderful surprise of the year: it is an excellent thriller. There is no clichés, no special effects and the characters are very human and well developed. The screenplay is very tight, without flaws; the direction is outstanding; and the magnificent cast has a marvelous performance. The plot recalls a Costa-Gravas movie, showing corruption both in Americans and Mexicans. The resolution of the situation is not corny or commercial, and does not spare or redeem any character, what is not common in American movies. Congratulation to all the persons that contributed for such an excellent entertainment. I just do not understand why this movie has had no promotion from the specialized critics and means of communication. My vote is ten. Title (Brazil): `Testemunha Ocular' (`Eye Witness')

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• Well worth watching

  david_topping2005-09-21

  I've just watched this as the late night film on the BBC and have to say I was really impressed. I soldiered through the first 10 minutes or so which don't give a good impression of the film. After that however the characters grow or seem to be more comfortable, having moved away from a slightly stereotypical "do-gooder" (Daniels), "cute American" (de Rossi), "resentful cop" (Collins) and "enigmatic government agent" (Spader). When the characters are established they really seem to have a very natural relationship and the film stays away from any hint of being a "buddy movie", which given the seriousness of the topic, would have been a mistake. What you are left with are just well seen characterisations, the same is equally true for the supporting cast. I enjoyed the setting of Mexico and the urban scenes which the director used to make the film look very 'normal'; no glossy idealised Mexican villages but equally no attempt to make the backdrop look squalid unless it needed to be. I suppose this is no big deal but it did make me pay more attention to the plot and the actors. It is the plot and its unravelling which makes this worth watching. The viewer is lead through the story only knowing as much as the characters, and like them, is led down some blind alleys before the denouement, which in itself I found worthwhile. Like another reviewer I found the ending just slightly contrived, apart from that I couldn't see any faults and have to say I found this thoroughly enjoyable and considerably more captivating and enjoyable than many of the so called thrillers being released at the moment. If you get a chance to rent this or it's on TV then I'd say it's well worth watching.

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• Best thriller writing I've seen in a while. Reminds me of "Witness."

  Paradox3way2006-08-11

  I've read other comments here which say it's also like "Traffic." Ditto that for me as well. Don't know who these writers are (Colin Greene and Robert Ozn) but they are truly awesome. Tight plotting, terse cop-talk tied to characterization and impassioned issue oriented story-line without preaching. Love the way the writers tie the diverse story lines together at the very end. I never guessed how it was all related and they really knew how to keep me hooked. Jeff Daniels gives a very cool,understated performance. Love Portia DeRossi, very sexy without trying. And of course James Spader is always fascinating to watch - wish he had more to do in this flick. I saw this in Europe on a DVD. How come this thing is not out in the USA?!

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• Reminiscent of "Missing" and "Traffic." Finally - an action/thriller that rocked me with a bona fide mystery! Kept me guessing the whole time. I NEVER figured it out until the end. Realis

  MovieFreek20032003-01-14

  Finally - an action/thriller flick that rocked me with a bona fide mystery! I hate "spoiler" reviews so I can't get into too much story. Needless to say, it's a top notch thinking man's action film. Jeff Daniels plays a Human Rights Watch type whose been demoted and sent to Tijuana because he punched out a journalist. This ain't no Greenpeace bleeding heart. He is one p***ed off and tortured tough son of a bitch. But Daniels never swaggers. He plays it with such subtlety and finesse, you know you're witnessing the kind of performance only given by actors who have the trust and confidence in their skills borne of years of experience. Clifton Collins is a Mexican homicide detective afflicted with the job of aiding Daniels in his investigation of a peasant massacre on the US/Mexican border. Collins has the same temperature of Latin fire as Al Pacino. His characterization is so convincing, it didn't even dawn on me until I saw the credits that this is the same actor who played Frankie Flowers the gay, sadistic assassin in "Traffic." He is an entirely different being - a star to watch. Spader mesmerizes by virtue of his edgy intelligence. He can ask for a drink of water and you are compelled to wonder about what he really wants. Portia De Rossi gives a gutsy performance as Daniels US government adversary, though it took me a while to get used to her playing a true hard ass. No Ally McBeal here. The writing was first rate. Maybe the bottom line best thing about the movie. I don't know who the writing team is - Colin Green and Robert Ozn - they don't have any other credits - I looked them up on imdb. It's kind of the best of old-school, 70s writing meets 21st century dialogue and pacing. I could picture these guys writing "The French Connection" as well as "Desperado." I do wonder, though, if the Ozn part of the team is the same (or related?) Ozn from the band Ebn-Ozn. It's by far the best thing Rowdy Herrington's ever directed. Miles above his Bruce Willis action flick - can't remember the name off the top of my head. He's very good with street action, makes it ring true without any tricks, never amping you up with manipulations or pyrotechnics. There's a moment where a union activist gets knee-capped, and I could feel the hammer drop. Cinematography and production values are filled with foreboding and dark secrets. At times, it's almost claustrophobic and creepy and then suddenly - there's sunlight. The only thing I'll give a 'fair' grade to was the music. It was sound design styled synth stuff, and for a film set in Tijuana, it didn't work for me. It wasn't bad, just the wrong color.

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