The title, The Witnesses, refers to a group of observant friends keeping an eye on each other, and an eye on the AIDS epidemic as it break in Paris in the mid 80s. Manu, a young, gay man, contracts the virus and this spreads ripples through his relationships with an older friend, his lover and his lover's wife. Writer-Director, André Téchiné, presents a drama that is all too familiar and as a result, it lacks bite. Much of the film feels contrived; it's hard to believe the actions of the characters at times and the jumps in continuity don't add much to the tension, instead they interrupt the flow of the fairly straight-forward narrative. Rather annoyingly, the score feels too much like Philip Glass' work on The Hours, but here it's much less effective. Luckily, and surprisingly, some of the more melodramatic moments in the screenplay work nicely. The performers bring a credibility and commitment to their scenes making the material a lot better than it deserves to be.
7 on the DaveScale.
(dir. André Téchiné, France, 115 mins)
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