The Crown Witness (2007) User Reviews

Cut-and-paste Hollywood mafia movie

[p-stepien · 2/10 · 30 October 2010]

Blacha (Robert Wieckiewicz), an ex-middleman in the criminal underground, is the key witness in an enormous Pruszkow mafia bust. As such he is kept under lock and key hidden away from the world. Intent on getting an interview with the ex-gangster is Marcin Kruk (Pawel Malaszynski), whose pregnant wife was collateral damage in a mafia car-bomb several years back with Blacha being his main suspect. Fortunately Blacha holds Marcin's journalistic work in very high regard, hence agrees to an exclusive interview in a secluded hotel in the Hel peninsula. There he retreads his criminal life...

A tale of two movies. Literally. It came to no shock when I found out that the 'present' was written by one person (Artur Kowalewski), while the retrospectives were done by another pair (Piotr Pytlakowski, Wojciech Kruk). Kowalewski's script is absolutely terrible - uninteresting, laughable, bland and at times ridiculous. This backed with the absolutely atrocious acting by Polish pretty-boy Malaszynski make it one of the worst cinematographic experiences I have seen lately. Even Robert Wieckiewicz was unables to act given his partnership, but what was worse - the dychotomy of the script unfortunately caused a severe schizophrenia and dual-personality disorder the character: 'Blacha' from the interview is completely out-of-sync with 'Blacha' from the retrospectives.

Now the second duo did a much better job, where they managed to flesh out the characters, the mafia, the way it functions and give the movie some real intense scenes. Now in the end even this part does run a bit flat and is nothing outside of the box of typical Hollywood movies, but at least it keeps you interested in the movie. Unfortunately the story is a bit too simple and straightforward, so it never hits home. Slowly and unfortunately it just fizzles out and give over the grand finale to the absolutely horrendous Kowalewski script.

A Thinking Man's Action Gangster Film.

[JoeKulik · 10/10 · 19 August 2015]

The Crown Witness (2007) (aka Swiadek koronny) is a "thinking man's" action gangster film. Superficially, it looks like your typical Hollywood style gangster film with lots of sex and violence, but beneath the surface there is a psychological dimension to this film that gives it real artistic merit.

The main storyline that transpires in the present is supplemented by secondary storyline consisting of chronologically sequenced flashbacks from the past. The editing to interweave the flashbacks into the present moment is done quite skillfully, and to good dramatic effect.

The story concept is unique and compelling, and is fleshed out quite adequately through a well thought out, and very detailed screenplay.

The basic story concept is that an investigative crime reporter, Marcin, gets an exclusive on camera interview with a former gangster, Blacha, who has "flipped" and become a protected state's witness against his many former cronies. Blacha's reason for granting the interview seems to be that he wants to rehabilitate his public persona as a man who has "turned the page", and is starting a new life as a "reformed good citizen". What Blacha doesn't know is that a bomb he planted to kill an associate years ago took out Marcin's pregnant wife as collateral damage. Because Marcin keeps this secret through the interview until the very end, there is a palpable psychological tension that develops as the film progresses. Marcin becomes more visibly distressed, and Blacha seems to sense that "something's up" with his interviewer but can't put his finger on it. The psychological tension is increased by the changing demeanor of Marcin's attractive camera gal, Iwona, who doesn't seem to know Marcin's secret either until the end.

There are actually two Blacha characters played by the same actor in the film, each with his own distinctive personality. The Blacha of the past, portrayed in the sequenced flashbacks, is generally your typical criminal psychopath, with little true empathy for those around him as he carries on with his mayhem. The present day Blacha, sitting in the interview, looks like a refined gentleman with gracious manners, and a sensitivity to those around him. As present day Blacha recounts the crimes of his past in the persona of his former self, both Marcin and Iwona become more and more affected, not only because Blacha's former lifestyle was so horrific, but also because present day Blacha seems to be "above it all", as if his criminal past was, in fact, that of a completely different person. It is both the horror of the stories that Blacha is recounting, and that they are now told now by a man who seems to have detached himself from these stories, who now seems to be no longer responsible for his former crimes in his present day "reformed" status that emotionally provokes both Marcin and Iwona. This film is rather deep and provocative in this regard.

Overall, the cinematography and editing in this film are superior. Montage is used extensively to create appropriate dramatic effects. The interspersed shots of seemingly irrelevant, even trivial details are very interesting. In short, this film is very visually pleasing.

The acting by the whole cast is very good. But the acting by Robert Wieckiewicz is exceptional, believably portraying two different personas, past and present, of the same character Blacha. Wieckiewicz not only successfully executes this dual personality role, but does so with the subtle interlaced nuances that are needed to connect the two personalities in the viewer's perception.