Silent Witness

Rating:
Summary: Movie set in Amsterdam
Review: An American businessman, played by William Hurt, takes his family to Amsterdam on a combined business/pleasure trip. While they are there his daughter, a mute, witnesses a murder. She is pursued by the murderers and shows courage and resourcefulness which would be extremely rare in a 10-year-old. There are some exciting scenes, but the acting on the part of Hurt and his screen wife, Meg Tilly, is not up to their usual standards. The movie pretty well depends on the special effects and they are not strong enough to maintain this film.

Rating:
Summary: Movie set in Amsterdam
Review: An American businessman, played by William Hurt, takes his family to Amsterdam on a combined business/pleasure trip. While they are there his daughter, a mute, witnesses a murder. She is pursued by the murderers and shows courage and resourcefulness which would be extremely rare in a 10-year-old. There are some exciting scenes, but the acting on the part of Hurt and his screen wife, Meg Tilly, is not up to their usual standards. The movie pretty well depends on the special effects and they are not strong enough to maintain this film.

Rating:
Summary: If silence is golden why bother with this movie ?
Review: Did I miss something or was the stupidest movie for the year? Basic plot 10 year old mute girl goes with her parents on a business trip/ vacation to Amsterdam and while there witnesses a murder. Of course, the body is missing, the hitman is after the girl, and the police are not even sure if there was a crime or just an overactive imagination on the part of the girl.

Why this movie is set in Amsterdam is beyond my ability to tell. Everyone in the picture speaks flawless unaccented English and they do so even when talking to each other!! This is not surprising since all the actors are American. The idea of being trapped in a foreign land, unable to speak the language or communicate distress is a fear common to many international travelers. Add to that being unable to speak at all, and a great amount of tension could have been created. This film never manages to accomplish anything close.

The bumbling hitman is a professional but he keeps using a weapon that jams even after his client is forced to finish the job for him. The attempt to silence the witness in the hotel makes "Home Alone" seem to be the height of realism. Only after we sit through almost two hours of this nonsense does the action/thriller part kick in. Person after person is knocked off by the murderous duo but they never seem quite able to capture their elusive quarry.

Nor could the people who made this film mange to give it any redeeming value.

Rating:
Summary: In a Word: Terrible
Review: It is hard to imagine William Hurt in a film that is absolutely terrible but he manages it in this lame vehicle. He even has trouble maintaining a Southern accent throughout the film, sometimes using one, sometimes not. Dennis Leary, the comic turned actor, is also wasted here but his onscreen time is very small. The plot is that Hurt's daughter, a mute ten year old, witnesses a murder in Amsterdam. For the rest of the movie, the villain's hit man tries to kill the girl. Not only can this ten year old manage to constantly foil a "professional," but this hit man must have failed Hit Man School. He absolutely cannot do anything right in carrying out his job and cannot even manage to own a gun that works properly. Bottom line: steer clear of this one.

Rating:
Summary: In a Word: Terrible
Review: It is hard to imagine William Hurt in a film that is absolutely terrible but he manages it in this lame vehicle. He even has trouble maintaining a Southern accent throughout the film, sometimes using one, sometimes not. Dennis Leary, the comic turned actor, is also wasted here but his onscreen time is very small. The plot is that Hurt's daughter, a mute ten year old, witnesses a murder in Amsterdam. For the rest of the movie, the villain's hit man tries to kill the girl. Not only can this ten year old manage to constantly foil a "professional," but this hit man must have failed Hit Man School. He absolutely cannot do anything right in carrying out his job and cannot even manage to own a gun that works properly. Bottom line: steer clear of this one.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent comedy thriller
Review: This stylish, well-directed comedy thriller by Holland's Dick Maas (Amsterdamned; The Lift) played on cable television under its original title, Do Not Disturb, and is highly recommended, a sort of cross between Mute Witness and Home Alone. The cast and production values are top notch, with only a silly and weak last fifteen minutes keeping it from being a five star recommendation. It is, however, better than any Hollywood thrillers that were released in theaters in 2000, and I think Disney (which produced this, apparantly as a kids movie in Europe) missed the boat by not giving it a theatrical run in the USA. As for the ignorant previous review, the movie takes place in Amsterdamn both because the writer/director is Dutch and because it makes a great location. The setting is an essential part of the film, which was shot in English with American faces to make it an easier international sell. I originally taped this off cable and everyone I lent it to loved it. I can't wait to get the DVD and finally see it widescreen.

Rating:
Summary: One of the worst movies ever made...
Review: We watched this because William Hurt USUALLY is a good actor. Not the case in this movie. What was this supposed to be? Was this a really bad comedy with an attempt at suspense, or a really bad suspense with some comedy mixed in? Regardless of the intent, the acting is weaker than a Freshman high school play, the plot is grossly anemic and the setting is meaningless. PLEASE don't rent, buy, recommend or even look at the box of this movie. If a "friend" recommends this to you as a great movie, make new friends!

Rating:
Summary: Silly, Impossible Action in Amsterdam Starring Hurt & Tilly
Review: Well, I admit, this is a very, very silly film by cult Dutch film maker Dick Maas, starring William Hurt, Jennifer Tilly, and Dennis Leary. Like all the Maas's films -- did you see Naomi Watts in "The Shaft"? -- "Silent Witness" is an uncomfortable blend of thrill and laugh, and though the actors try their best, the result is not as good as is intended.

The film is also titled "Do Not Disturb," and quite appropriately starts with the scene where newly-arrived family (Hurt and Tilly ... most unlikely husband and wife) check in Hotel De L'Europe in Amsterdam. They also have a pretty daughter (Francesca Brown) who cannot speak (hence, Silent Witness), who, well, witnesses a murder done by a hitman (Corey Johnson).

The rest of the film is about the 10 year-old girl's attempt to save her life and tell the truth to the parents. The cat-and-mouse situation sometimes becomes silly when this girl can foil the professional hitman's attacks, displaying the impossible ruses you can never imagine yourself. And when in real trouble, an American Dennis Leary (who happens to live in the small boat in the city's canal) offers a help.

Still, ridiculous as it is, the film is always good to see for its locations. The seductive charms of the night of Amsterdam are beautifully captured, and after all Dick Maas lived in this city for more than 25 years, so why not? And the film comes with the surprisingly good action sequences shot on the streets of the city.

If you have absolutely nothing to do, or just want to see the beautiful city of Amsterdam, "Silent Witness" is a place to go. Otherwise, stick to Bruce Willis's "Die Hard" which this film is definitely not.

Rating:
Summary: Silly, Impossible Action in Amsterdam Starring Hurt & Tilly
Review: Well, I admit, this is a very, very silly film by cult Dutch film maker Dick Maas, starring William Hurt, Jennifer Tilly, and Dennis Leary. Like all the Maas's films -- did you see Naomi Watts in "The Shaft"? -- "Silent Witness" is an uncomfortable blend of thrill and laugh, and though the actors try their best, the result is not as good as is intended.

The film is also titled "Do Not Disturb," and quite appropriately starts with the scene where newly-arrived family (Hurt and Tilly ... most unlikely husband and wife) check in Hotel De L'Europe in Amsterdam. They also have a pretty daughter (Francesca Brown) who cannot speak (hence, Silent Witness), who, well, witnesses a murder done by a hitman (Corey Johnson).

The rest of the film is about the 10 year-old girl's attempt to save her life and tell the truth to the parents. The cat-and-mouse situation sometimes becomes silly when this girl can foil the professional hitman's attacks, displaying the impossible ruses you can never imagine yourself. And when in real trouble, an American Dennis Leary (who happens to live in the small boat in the city's canal) offers a help.

Still, ridiculous as it is, the film is always good to see for its locations. The seductive charms of the night of Amsterdam are beautifully captured, and after all Dick Maas lived in this city for more than 25 years, so why not? And the film comes with the surprisingly good action sequences shot on the streets of the city.

If you have absolutely nothing to do, or just want to see the beautiful city of Amsterdam, "Silent Witness" is a place to go. Otherwise, stick to Bruce Willis's "Die Hard" which this film is definitely not.