The
investigation conducted by Kitty Genovese’s brother, chronicled in his own
similarly titled documentary, reveals her Kew Garden neighbors were far more
responsible and proactive than the New
York Times reported. Nevertheless, the Genovese urban legend deeply informs
this characteristically dark and moody Korean thriller. Han Sang-hoon will
indeed look the other way when a woman is murdered in his courtyard, but karma
will punish him severely for his moment of cowardice in Jo Kyu-jang’s The Witness (trailer here), which is now
playing in New York.
Han
has a bossy but loving wife, an adorable young daughter, and a not
inconsiderable mortgage on their new flat, so he has a lot to lose. He is a
schlubby salaryman, not a hero, so when he comes home from a late night of
mandatory drinking with co-workers, he freezes when he spies a serial killer
dispatching his latest victim. Unfortunately, Han gives himself away through
his clumsiness. Thus, begins a game of cat and mouse. Han keeps hoping it will
all go away. However, the stakes really start to escalate when another
intimidated witness approaches him, hoping to come clean with the police together.
In
addition to the Kitty Genovese myth, The
Witness also riffs on Rear Window,
but it still manages to be entirely its own beast. Jo devises some fresh twists
and grows the tension organically out of Korea’s more rigid social norms. This
is a story just about everyone can relate to, but it is particularly nightmarish
for a Korean everyman like Han.
On
paper, Han might not sound like a flashy role, but Lee Sung-min hits it out of
the park anyway. This is a career year for him, following up his awards-worthy work
in The Spy Gone North, but this is a
starring turn that might just be his defining desperate-plugger role. It is
also rewarding to see Kim Sang-ho make the most of his serious roles. He is
terrific here as Jang Jae-jeop, the earnest, honest, and often embarrassed (by
department incompetence) detective investigating the murder. Kwak Si-yang is
creepy as all get out as the killer, while young Park Bom will make viewers
want to jump into the film to protect her, as Han’s daughter Eun-ji.