(2023) Witnessed
CRIME DRAMA
Edited, cinematography, co-produced, written and directed by Dominic Goodie, which upon gazing at the title without reading what it's about or anything, my first thought as soon as I saw the title "Witnessed" was mystery or suspense, but the title is only in reference to the opening, when the teenage son, Daniel Ortez (Lau'rie Roach) witnessed his own father, Fernando Ortez (Lawrence Blakey) murdered and killed by one of the two people right on front of him while operating their little convenience store. That teenage son then tries to redeem himself by the only way he thinks he knows how, is to sought after the two people who may have done it. Det. Marcus Tillman (Vincent M. Ward) is assigned to the case, and while it may looked like a typical routine retribution film- it's not (at least that was what I was hoping for anyway). We are then shown a little of the two robbers personal lives of the actual shooter, J-Dog (Tray Kash) who sells drugs on the side, and the accessory, Khalil Brown (Adrian Raynard Smith Jr.) who's expecting with his wife, Tiffany (Joi Evonne).
The fact that it was a father/ son run business teenage son, Daniel Ortez bent on going after the two robbers as opposed to taking over the store and operate it, that did not bother me. What I was hoping was just a routine movie about revenge and all that, did not bother me, but that the fact took a 360 degree turn to make the detective in charge of the case, Det. Marcus Tillman to be a dirty cop who may have been responsible for Daniel's father's death because he was a witness to a murder/ drug deal, killed the credibility of whatever transpired before that- in other words, it killed the rhythm, making viewers asking moire questions than it is answering. And it may be the result of other producers wanting their their two cents shown as well. I also felt sympathy to the robber, Adrian Raynard Smith Jr character as Khalil since he did have a family and did not want any killing happening at all, and yet the movie chose to kill him off, which no lesson can be learned by watching this, as opposed to let's say "Boyz in the Hood". Maybe the makers were going for a Spike Lee type of movie except that he stays focus, leaving with no questions that needed to be asked.
