Uma Criança por Testemunha

Anyone who doesn't like this movie is immature and relies on cheap thrills for entertainment. This is a perfect example of making a good movie with a low budget and no extremely well-known actors. On a scale of 1 to 10, this movie is an easy 8 1/2.

This is a little known thriller from the guy who wrote the screenplay for The Hitcher. Like that film, this one is a road movie.

Plot: two hit men rub out some mob witnesses but have to contend with a survivor, a plucky little kid.

Roy Scheider's performance as Cohen, the sleek professional hit-man is wonderful. When he slips on what looks like a pair of black rubber gloves at the start of the film, it somehow says almost all you need to know about him.

Adam Baldwin is equally impressive as the less slick and much less professional killer, the ominously psychopathic Tate, who likes to run over small animals while he drives...

This film is extremely tense in spots. And if you're a fan of films that end with a bang, you should enjoy the climactic confrontation between the cops, the killers, and that damned little kid! This might be Roy Scheider's last great role.

The nine year-old boy Travis Knight (Harley Cross) witnesses the murder of a Houston mobster. His parents and he go to a safe house in Oklahoma protected by three FBI agents under the witness protection program. However one agent betrays the group and the hitmen Cohen (Roy Scheider) and Tate (Adam Baldwin) kill the agents and Travis' parents. They kidnap Travis since a Mafia boss wants to know who killed the other mobster. Along their travel to Houston, Travis finds that Tate is a hotheaded psychopath that enjoys to kill while the veteran Cohen is a calmer professional killer. Travis try to put Cohen against Tate while tries to flee. What will happen to the trio?

The first thing that calls the attention in "Cohen and Tate" is the totally underrated IMDb User Rating. This excellent thriller by Eric Red is supported by a tense storyline well-supported by a magnificent screenplay and top-notch performances of Roy Scheider, Adam Baldwin and the boy Harley Cross. The character Travis Knight is extremely clever and his attitude is probably one of the greatest attraction of this little gem. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Uma Criança por Testemunha" ("A Child as Witness")

Harley Cross does fine work here as Travis Knight. Travis and his family were living out in the middle of nowhere in the witness protection program until their temporary hideout is infiltrated by gangsters. Travis is not only the sole survivor of the massacre, but also the only one who can identify the perpetrators. Two hit men known only as Cohen (Roy Scheider) and Tate (Adam Baldwin) are hired to kidnap the boy and drive him to their boss.

But, they're not dealing with just some kid. Travis actually turns out to be rather clever in what may seem like a helpless situation, figuring out Cohen and Tate's psychological weaknesses (Cohen is a by-the-book-no-questions-asked hit men while Tate takes pride in tormenting the smart-mouthed kid) and using it against them to protect himself.

It is a very simple film done quite well because it entirely character-driven. Surprisingly, it is quite a good thriller, despite the usual story of the hired hand and the mafia witnesses with great performances all around.

This was the film that first marked out for me the name Eric Red as one to watch.Not only a tense,character-driven thriller,but a wonderful ensemble piece to boot,with Alec Baldwin (not a name I knew,but one I've looked out for since) and Roy Scheider (working for that rarity:A filmmaker who understands his strengths and plays to them) providing perfect foils to one another-slipping from comedy to edgy tension and back again without breaking sweat. Don't bother with it if you're after cheap thrills n' spills-give it a try and think of the road movie Hitchcock might have made...