What makes it different from others?

Instant Favorite.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

Meet the Battons, living comfortably in an upper middle class lifestyle in suburban Boston. The truth is Bobby Batton (Tom Sizemore) is a mobster. Unbeknownst to him, Batton's boss has decided to terminate Bobby. Batton is tipped to the plot against him when he foils a kidnap attempt on Batton's daughter Suzie. His only way out is Witness Protection and a new identity. We see the pressure cooker turned up when Bratton and his family confronts the limitations of the work-a-day world and have to learn their cover stories. Bob Batton is particularly peeved that he must get a job. He holds the working class in especial contempt.Forest Whitaker plays Steve Beck the FBI coach with great aplumb when he must tell Batton how to get a job. Why do you care? Batton exasperated with Beck's tenacity asks . Because it's my job, comes the smug reply.Cindy Batton is played by Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Agent Beck tells her she's worth maybe $35 G on the labor market if she finishes her paralegal degree and returns to work in a law firm. How are we going to live on that?I won't agree that Witness Protection really does all that this US government propaganda movie says it does to trap real criminals. I do find the concept of adjusting to a completely new life interesting.

There's inherent limitations built into most TV movies. They tend to feel just a little closed in, without a lot of focus on cinematography. "Witness Protection" has the sense of being (literally) in a locked room. It provides an opportunity to focus almost completely on the actors and their performances. And there's some great performances, too. The three leads (Sizemore, Mastrantonio, Whitaker) get deep under the skin of their characters. The interaction between Sizemore and Mastrantonio, especially, reaches a level of tenderness and darkness that's totally unanticipated.This film works well to director Richard Pearce's ability with actors, but doesn't provide him much in the way of visual opportunity like some of his stunning feature films (Threshold, Country, The Long Walk Home, A Family Thing). But, although "Witness Protection" sounds uninteresting and doesn't look much better, it is a numbing, dramatic punch to the face. There's a ton of depth to the writing here, brought to full bear by the actors. The only off-key note was with young Skye McCole Bartusiak, who is sometimes forced to express levels of emotion that she's not completely capable of getting across. Watch this film, though. You just might get something from it.

What should be a documentation on the witness protection programme quickly fizzles into a domestic drama. And not a very good one at that. Performances are average but with no real chemistry between the characters. This stuff isn't released as a big movie for a reason. Mainly because it's not any good. "Witness Protection" is as un-memorable as movies come. 4/10.

This movie was very good. Even though I should have probably known better, I was under the long term illusion that these witness protection people got a free ride for selling out to the government. This movie really gives a dose of reality that is pretty believable. You are torn between thinking "he really deserved it" and empathizing with him and his family and what they are giving up for the protection. I also thought the movie did a good job of showing how they have to find them selves and their family core once again to proceed with their new lives. Great jobs by Forest Whitaker and Mary Elizabeth.