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.

| Jan 23, 2017

It's a quietly effective documentary that works on two levels.

| Original Score: B+ | Jan 23, 2017

The film presents Kitty Genovese's identity as an afterthought, turning her living days and nights into incidental details.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Oct 18, 2016

The movie cuts deep on a personal level as well, turning Kitty from a poster child back into a real person.

| Jul 21, 2016

"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.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 30, 2016

For all the tedium of the work before William, "The Witness" is a riveting deconstruction of a decades-old media narrative.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jun 30, 2016

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.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 17, 2016

This well-rounded doc rigorously probes, shames and - wonder of wonder - inspires.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Jun 16, 2016

The strength of "The Witness" lies in its recognition that the truth is often not just elusive but unattainable.

| Jun 16, 2016

A remarkably rounded and unavoidably heartbreaking view of Kitty's life and murder and whose impact is, in large part, due to Bill's central involvement.

| Jun 13, 2016

The Witness, from first-time filmmaker James Solomon, is full of arresting moments.

| Jun 6, 2016

The Witness takes a heartaching deep dive into a story we already thought we knew.

| Jun 6, 2016

The film makes its mark when it leans in on the deeply personal connection between its subject and its storyteller.

| Original Score: B+ | Jun 6, 2016

What lifts "The Witness" out of the true-crime documentary genre is its portrait of Bill Genovese.

| Original Score: B+ | Jun 3, 2016

This is a powerful film, but perhaps its greatest triumph is that for a brief time, it resurrects Kitty Genovese, and lets us see her as a person.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Jun 3, 2016

At its sharpest, The Witness is a careful inquiry into the tricks memory plays, and into how ambiguous events get reshaped into narratives that fit individual and collective needs.

| Jun 2, 2016

Solomon's documentary goes deep into what we know about the killing, and what - thanks to flawed original reporting in the New York Times - we only think we know.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Jun 2, 2016

"The Witness" is remarkable for its emotional impact, and its clarity.

| Jun 2, 2016

Ultimately, the murder is eclipsed by Mr. Genovese's own struggles - how his obsession exasperates family members, and how the perceived public apathy inspired him to fight in Vietnam, where he lost his legs.

| Jun 2, 2016

Perhaps because any real closure is impossible at this point, The Witness eventually embraces its own inconclusiveness, like some documentary cousin to Zodiac.

| Original Score: B- | Jun 2, 2016