Die Mexico connection

I really like to watch thrillers, if that's a name you can put to the films which contain action, suspense, mystery, drama; everything in one package. Sometimes we just call them suspense films. I like the "thriller" designation, especially because of the arguments I'm about to deal with here.

I should say I like to watch thrillers because I'm expecting some adrenaline. I'm expecting to connect with a story, with the characters. "Seven" reached that goal in my expectations. It's an exceptional thriller. There are not much more thrillers that have captivated me. "Heat" is another one, maybe, if you can call it a thriller. So every time I sit to watch this type of film, I'm prepared. In cases of movies like "I Witness", things don't go very, or that well (referring to the other ones).

"I witness" is not a good thriller. Not because it lacks the elements, no. It has them all; but they are not managed correctly. The action scenes are constantly repeated, the suspense is not felt (and this eliminates mystery), it's hard to believe the drama. Casting has united a strong ensemble here. Maybe the ones that made a mistake were the persons in the ensemble, at the time they chose to be in it.

Some days ago I was talking about Jeff Daniels. We were discussing and I heard someone saying that he is always playing the same role. Probably. I like him as an actor, but I have got to think if he is really "choosing" his roles. He could be playing with them. He'll give you a good performance, but he is not really wanting to. He is so relaxed and disinterested; he doesn't seem to care.

Some characters have big names but little participation. Portia de Rossi; I'm talking about her. I don't like her very much. She has that cute face but never seems to be comfortable in her roles or show any talent when playing them. Then there is James Spader; he seems to be drawn. He doesn't show any emotion, not even when he's having sex with a woman. Jordi Caballero, a sort of newcomer, finds the note for the role, although he overacts it most of the time.

Then I should finish talking about the only impression the movie left on me, believe it or not. You could think I'm joking, but I was "thrilled" (not bad if a thriller causes that impression) with Clifton Collin Jr's performance. What an ability he has to create emotions at the time he has a serious look. He can be so sad and not fake it, yet make it real. I haven't seen him much, but I remember him in the little roles he played in "Tigerland" (very good movie, and one of Colin Farrell's best performances) and "The Last Castle". He was superb here.

The movie was predictable and you could sense the ending. The most disappointing thing will be; that if you don't guess the ending, you won't be surprised by the resolution the movie shows to you. It will be just another possibility, like everything. Now that's not a good sign about a thriller, is it?

Like Bordertown, I Witness exposes another underbelly of corporate internationalism seeking windfall profits by escaping fair trade practices, fair wages and scrutiny by government agencies created to protect environmental concerns. Hiding behind Mexico's drug wars, the new gangsters of corporate thuggery use criminal means to cloak the cost of dumping toxic chemical waste upon the unsuspecting in a country where a bribe can cover any crime, no matter the number and innocence of victims. And like Bordertown, I Witness takes with fiction the excursions into truth today's mess media would dare not touch upon. Jeff Daniels and James Spader typically provide glowing performances while Clifton Collier Jr's performance places as something grand to see. Rowdy Harrington's direction is professionally able and the camera work is exceptional. Writers Colin Greene and Robert Ozn are to be commended. A film whose time is come and whose value exceeds entertainment, this should have been required viewing by Congress before passing on trade agreements that have undermined the quality of life on both sides of the border. JCH

In Mexico, two American dirtbikers are killed. In Tijuana, the police discovers a tunnel collapse with many bodies. This attracts the attention of human rights reporter Jim Rhodes (Jeff Daniels) and American representative Douglas Draper (James Spader). The police puts it as a simple drug tunnel collapse but Rhodes disagrees. Rhodes is also monitoring an union vote in an American company operating locally. Emily Thompson (Portia de Rossi) is an American trade representative. Roy Logan (Wade Williams) is the plant manager. Claudio Castillo (Clifton Collins Jr.) is a honest local cop. As the government lays everything on the drug lord, a deeper conspiracy is uncovered.

The production value is limited. The movie wants to be big. There are so many plot lines and characters going all over the place. Its ambition is bigger than the movie. Luckily for the movie, it has great actors at work. Jeff Daniels is great and all the actors down the line are top notch. The story needs a bit of simplification. It could slim the main cast down by one or two. The directions aren't good enough whether it's the action scenes or the crowds.

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?!

Superficially, 'I Witness' sounds very promising: a thriller whose story mixes the battle of a union for recognition, a mass grave in Mexico and the mysterious vanishing of two American kids. But everyone speaks in that slick, snappy way you only seem to hear in film or TV, Jeff Daniels plays a human rights monitor as a self-righteous international detective, and Portia de Rossi is utterly ludicrous in her role, eye-candy disguised as an American trade envoy. More generally, the film lapses into portraying Mexico as a place where everything is utterly rotten, while the US government, although questioned, ultimately comes down on the right side in the rather ludicrous finale. Yet another criticism is that there's just too much action: for certain, there are plenty of worst offenders, but a drama with any real interest in Mexican assembly plants, or drug cartels, would follow a single story with more care, instead of decorating it with as many chases and gun fights as we get here. Ultimately, this is a film that doesn't seem to know what it wants to be: strip away the pretension to seriousness, and there's not much more than an underpowered version of something like the Jason Bourne films. It's a shame, because there's more than enough potential content in it's ideas to make a great movie.