Witness Protection (1999)

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.

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.

A fictionalized account of a mobster taking his family into the Witness Protection program. Every aspect of what the life must be like is taken into account. Tom Sizemore and Forrest Whitaker are terrific. Mary E. Mastrantonio is a bit shrill, but good.

Witness Protection is another fine example of HBO's strong line of original films (Mistrial, Vendetta, RKO 281). In Witness Protection, Tom Sizemore (Saving Private Ryan, Bringing Out the Dead) stars as a mob man who has recently had a hit put out on him by his own boss. In order to protect himself and his family he agrees to testify against his boss and enter the witness protection program. After entering the program he soon realizes the stress this puts on his family as everyone begins to take sides against everyone else in a struggle to make it. Sizemore one of the best actors in the business gives a strong lead performance adding to his list of impressive performances. Forest Whitaker (Blown Away, Species) adds a great supporting performance as the man who leads the family into the program. Highly recommended.