X
- 1981
- R
- Twentieth Century Fox
- 1 h 43 m
- 1981
- R
- Twentieth Century Fox
- 1 h 43 m
Summary Eccentric Vietnam War vet turned janitor claims to have witnessed a murder of a man tied to international political underground in order to get the attention of a TV reporter he has a huge crush on. The cops suspect his loser best friend.
Directed By: Peter Yates
Written By: Steve Tesich
- 1981
- R
- Twentieth Century Fox
- 1 h 43 m
- 1981
- R
- Twentieth Century Fox
- 1 h 43 m
Eyewitness
61
User Score
Mixed or Average
4.5
Where to Watch
Summary Eccentric Vietnam War vet turned janitor claims to have witnessed a murder of a man tied to international political underground in order to get the attention of a TV reporter he has a huge crush on. The cops suspect his loser best friend.
Directed By: Peter Yates
Written By: Steve Tesich
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 10 Critic Reviews
61
60% Positive
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
40% Mixed
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 10 Critic Reviews
61
60% Positive
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
40% Mixed
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Back from their respective voids and together for the firs time, Hurt and Weaver romp romantically as janitor and TV news reporter in Eyewitness, a murky mystery produced and directed by Peter Yates and written by Steve Tesich, the guys who uplifted us via Breaking Away. [06 Mar 1981, p.15]
I've seen so many thrillers that, frankly, I don't always care how they turn out — unless they're really well-crafted. What I like about Eyewitness is that, although it does care how it turns out, it cares even more about the texture of the scenes leading to the denouement.
The Yugoslav-born Tesich is a wry romantic, a moonstruck jester, and his tendency toward excess is nicely complemented by Britisher Yates's crisp but delicate professionalism. With a superb cast at their disposal, they've taken a somewhat preposterous film noir plot and enriched it with quirky, meaty characterizations to produce a nervous comedy of menace about class distinctions and romantic and political obsession. [02 Mar 1981, p.81]
Eyewitness provides 90 minutes of the best entertainment I've seen all year. Unfortunately, the movie is almost two hours long. That leaves about 30 minutes of material we'd all be better off without. [12 Mar 1981, p.18]
A thoroughly delightful but far from plausible mystery melodrama that operates exclusively on high spirits and a no-nonsense intelligence that is never sidetracked by coherence.
The movie's very smoothness may set viewers up for a letdown. It's a low-key exercise in genre suspense and romance that fails to generate a high level of excitement or deliver classic dynamic thrills. [06 Mar 1981, p.C1]
Weaver plays her part very well, but simply can’t justify the character’s actions, which ripple through the murder plot in several directions. Consequently, the story gets more and more strained before it’s resolved.
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 4 User Ratings
4.5
0% Positive
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
75% Mixed
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
25% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 4 User Ratings
4.5
0% Positive
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
75% Mixed
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
25% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
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