Review of Witness (1985) by Jesse O — 14 Apr 2013

I thought this film was fairly entertaining but, and it seems to me, that time has not been kind to this film. It's certainly good, but not anything special. I've seen these types of films a lot, and perhaps that's the reason why it didn't feel so special.

It's a typical 'fish out of water' story with Harrison Ford being thrust into Amish culture as he's investigating some corrupt cops. He comes to see how the Amish live and falls in love with one of them, played by Kelly McGillis.

I think the movie doesn't have a particularly focused story since it tries to be a thriller, a 'fish out of water' comedy, and a romance all at once. And I suppose some of it works but it never feels like Harrison's character truly learns something, it just feels like, and this will sound stupid, it's scripted instead of a natural transformation from this character.

As mentioned it sounds stupid since this is a fictional story that's scripted to tell this story, but the character progression feels forced instead of natural and organic to me. The acting is solid and I think the movie, in spite of its flaws, is still entertaining.

It's just that these flaws are too big to ignore and keep the film from being better than it is. This is definite Netflix instant material here.