Secret Witness (1988) (TV)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

Eric Laneuville

Writers (WGA):

Alfred Sole (written by) &
Paul Monette (written by)

Release Date:

8 September 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Series pilot about two youngsters who play amateur detectives in their neighborhood.

Cast

Joaquin Phoenix	...	Drew Blackburn (as Leaf Phoenix)
Kellie Martin	...	Jennie Thomas
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Betty A. Bridges	...	Mrs. Diamond
Barry Corbin	...	Sheriff
Paddi Edwards	...	Eunice
Eric Harrison	...	Mr. Anderson
Paul Le Mat	...	Kurt
Eric Love	...	Vagrant
Kendall McCarthy	...	2nd Deputy
Jeff O'Haco	...	Detective
David Rasche	...	Sandy
David Raynr	...	Alan Diamond
T.C. Ryan	...	Prisoner
Deborah Wakeham	...	Katie Corey
Dean Wein	...	1st Deputy

Also Known As:

No Secrets (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

Spain:72 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:12

Company:

CBS Entertainment Production

So short and yet so boring

Who is this movie supposed to be for?

With two almost-teen kids among main characters the target population might be school age kids. But, according to this site 'Secret Witness' is a 'drama', and not a 'family' movie. It's not a surprise, because in USA you can't expect to have a secret relation between a divorced man and a woman just about to be divorced, kids watching love scenes spying through windows, or a twelve year old girl announcing she'll write novels about sex - all that in a movie for kids (last of that today maybe in any movie). If this film were European, this wouldn't be a problem, but if it were German a detective story would be emphasized and not so slow; if it were French a father-son relation would be far more developed and a mother would probably appear and take part in solving problems (or complicating them even more).

Adults would surely expect even more from a(ny) movie. You can't make drama just having father who doesn't take time enough with his son who lives with mother (who, as we can guess, treats him the same way). And you can't have a thriller or a crime movie when the murder happens in the second half of the movie; especially if you expect it from the start (due to the title). When something finally starts happening, this movie suddenly ends.

Acting is awful. Rasche and Corbin are worse than ever, and Le Mat can make us believe he is a weird artist, but transformation to a psychotic killer completely fails. (If younger, Anthony Perkins would be an ideal choice for the role.) Kids are acting much better but you can't lean on kids to save a non-kids movie.

I can't remember a single reason for anyone to watch this movie. I don't like action movies, but this one is too boring and too slow even for me. Only if you are a person easy to get offended - there is nothing that should offend anyone in this movie. Because there is nothing in this movie at all.