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Witness Protection (1999)
Rate:
7
Viewed:
9/25
9/25:
Once in a while, a movie comes along to present an interesting topic that people don't ever think about or
experience.
Remember in Goodfellas when Henry and Karen Hill decided to give up
their Mafia life by entering the witness protection program? The question is: what happens in between?
That's what Witness Protection is all about which is based on Robert Sabbag's article entitled "The
Invisible Family."
By the way, the place in the film where the family was held at is what it actually looks like but recreated on
a soundstage, and the program is called Witness Security Program (WITSEC). I also recommend reading Peter
Earley's book WITSEC: Inside the Federal Witness Protection Program with the help of Gerald Shur who's
the father of the whole thing.
Everything looks accurate on the whole. The story becomes easy to understand how hard it is for a Mafia family to
let go their former life and be regular folks without ever making a slip-up in terms of their old names and
habits. The FBI is honest by giving out success rate of the program but doesn't care whether they will
make out or not.
Strong performances come from Tom Sizemore (in a rare leading role), Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, and Forest
Whitaker. It's smart of the latter to remain detached the whole time by simply stating he's doing his job. For
the first two, it's impossible to muster any empathy on top of not knowing the father's full record in the Mafia.
Their kids are very annoying, but I suppose that goes with the territory.
All in all, an Amazon reviewer who worked in the program for nine years gives his seal of approval for
Witness Protection, and that's saying something.