Kitty Genovese became synonymous with apathy after news that she was stabbed to death on a New York City street while 38 witnesses did nothing. Now, Bill Genovese digs up to investigate the murder of his sister.
By the time [Bill Genovese] hires an actress to walk the same stretch of street in Kew Gardens that Kitty walked that night in 1964, having her scream and wail down footpaths and inside stairwells, I was unsettled. But not in a particularly good way.
Skillful, complex, and purposely understated, The Witness succeeds not just as a re-examination of one of the most talked-about crimes in modern memory, but as a very touching, human tale of a brother trying to get to know the sister he lost too soon.
The story deftly switches focus from Bill's quest to Bill himself. We learn how and why the witness apathy story has haunted him for 50 years, his family's reaction to his admitted obsession over it, and how it shaped his life.
For years, the legend of the 38 witnesses has been held up as an example of apathy and disconnect, but The Witness proves that the fabric of humanity is actually so strong, that our ties can endure for decades after our deaths.
"The Witness" makes an encouraging case for the argument that society is not as apathetic as we fear. But it also reveals a troubling phenomenon: our willingness to accept all that we are told as truth.
"The Witness" is fascinating enough for its careful reporting of the circumstances surrounding the infamous murder, but equally as a study of the impact of crimes on those left behind.
An engrossing detective story, an enlightening sociological study, and a heartbreaking story of unreconciled grief, "The Witness" is one of the best documentaries of 2016.
