The Witness Files (1999)

the audience applauded

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Writer Cameron Kent has some good ideas but fails to make them gel in a script full of plot holes and improbable situations. The cast headed by Yancy Butler as target Sandy Dickinson do the best they can with what is given them. Perhaps the stand out performance is by Barry Flatman as archfiend Frank Sutton hiding behind the law for his nefarious schemes of self-aggrandizement, but no one is less than adequate for this suspense thriller.Sandy Dickinson is in prison for murdering her abusive husband to protect herself and her son, Justin (Matthew Harbour). Surprisingly, the man who prosecuted her on involuntary manslaughter charges, Frank Sutton, obtains a parole for her after she agrees to falsely testify for him against a mob leader. Unbeknownth to Sandy, Frank keeps witness files, hence the apropos title, on key witnesses who somehow end up dead. Sandy becomes a target for Frank's hit men but successfully eludes them by her own machinations and talents as a make-up artist. She is aided by a police detective, Dennis McCoy (David Nerman), and her friends from prison and elsewhere. That Sandy and Dennis fall in love doesn't prevent Sandy from using Dennis to deal effectively with Frank to get rid of him for good. How she does this is much too contrived but still entertaining.A bonus is the haunting music of Canadian artist Christopher Dedrick, particularly the closing theme.

I would like to find out the name of the song and the performer that was the last song of the movie. It was played during the subtitles at the end of the movie. Who sang the song and what is the name of the song? That's it. I really liked the move and it held my interest the entire time. The actors were very convincing and attractive. The only thing I couldn't figure out was that it seems that the detective/investigator that was dating the the ex-con lady, Sandy, towards the end of the movie would have taken the time and interest to view a photo of the missing "dead" lady Sandy by looking in her prison files. There would have been a photo of her and an investigator would have wanted to see a photo of the person that is supposedly dead and missing.

Just saw this movie and Had to comment ! Mainly cause it was at this time rated 3.6 !! Thats way too low for this kinda above average story and acting ! The Plot is Good and acting is above average of all concerned ! There's enough action to make it interesting and where does it say that a movie must have action from a to z ?? Not all can be as Lethal Weapon !

Great twist on the "corrupt prosecutor gets his just-due" genre. Yancy Butler plays Sandy Dickenson, a wrongly convicted mother - released from prison by corrupt prosecutor Frank Sutton(running for higher office) played by Barry Flatman, who extorts her into giving false testimony to convict a crime lord to bolster his political standing aided by a gullible police detective David McCoy, played well by David Nerman, who Sandy seduces and manipulates into pursuing prosecutor Sutton....and with the help of Sandy's prison acquaintance con-family Sandy pulls off the ultimate "con". The pace & film-making qualities of this movie are impressive, as is the editing. The best part is Yancy Butler's star-turn performance - her best to date.