Review // The Witness

The Witness takes audiences behind the headlines of the infamous murder case of Kitty Genovese. Her name is synonymous with bystander apathy after the New York Times published an account of her murder in 1964 citing that 38 eyewitness stood by and did nothing as she was attacked in the wee hours of a cold March morning. Her death spurred debate, legal and police reform, and research into the state of American society. Now, 50 years after she was murdered on the streets of New York City, Kitty’s younger brother Bill attempts to discover the truth behind the events of that fateful morning.

The Witness is a must see. The documentary from filmmaker James D. Solomon follows Bill Genovese as he searches for the 38 witnesses to discover whether his sister truly died alone and unaided like the media claimed. The film is well crafted and looks at how Kitty’s death affected her community, the nation, her family and her brother. I haven’t seen a documentary this well scripted in a long time. As the film progresses, we follow Bill down the rabbit hole. He begins by tracking down witnesses and following up on their (possibly mis)remembered testimonies, then he contacts reporters who covered or failed to cover the story in the 60s and then again with more recent reporters who questioned the validity of the original New York Times article. He goes on to contact Kitty’s friends, lovers, and co-workers as he attempts to discover more about her life in the city. Finally, in an attempt to gain closure, Bill even tries to speak with the man convicted of Kitty’s murder. We learn about Kitty and the circumstances of her death, but we learn more about how her death impacted Bill and his siblings. What Bill discovers about Kitty is intriguing, but the real heart of the film is the incredible lengths he’s willing to go in order to maintain a relationship with his long dead sister.

Despite being centred on a notorious crime story, The Witness isn’t a true crime film. It isn’t really about Kitty at all. The Witness is a film about grief and how a family never got to celebrate their sister’s life because the whole country was too fixated on her death. It’s a well-crafted, gripping look at how crime affects survivors, how truth is subjective, and how sometimes there’s no such thing as closure.

Reviewed by Vithiya Murugadas.