The notion that humanity would be better off if there were justlessof us isn’t a new one, andscience-fictionhas been toying with that idea at least as far back asWilliam F. NolanandGeorge Clayton’s novelLogan’s Run(andsubsequent 1976 movie adaptation), which offered up a futuristic world where equilibrium is achieved simply by culling the population with mandatory killings dictated by age. Canadian writer/directorAnn Marie Fleming’s new filmCan I Get a Witness?takes that basic plot device and runs in the opposite direction from its “hard sci-fi” trappings. Instead, her movie, identified up front as a “fable,” is a character-first piece that serves as both a meditation on death and a raging environmental diatribe. It’s also unfortunately light on drama, turning away from the hard questions the film’s premise raises to tell a simple, almost poetic tale about how drastic changes are needed to save this planet. Her points are certainly valid,butCan I Get a Witness?struggles to make a strong case for what actions to take, be it self-sacrifice, better conservation practices, or just trying to make good use of your time here.
What Is ‘Can I Get a Witness?’ About?
Set in the not-too-distant future,Can I Get a Witness?presents a world without war, poverty, or hunger. How did humanity arrive at this utopia? By mandating that everyone commit ritualistic suicide once they hit the age of 50. This simple act, which feels like it should be more complicated and controversial than the movie makes it out to be, has been combined with some other tactics (computers have been outlawed, water is strictly rationed) to seemingly bring about an age of peace and tranquility (at least on a community level).Sandra OhandKeira Jangplay Ellie and Kiah, a mother and daughter both dealing with new challenges. Kiah is a teenager starting a new job as a “documenter,” an artist who’s assigned to witness and memorialize the final days and moments of those in her community about to turn 50. She is teamed up with a partner named Daniel (Joel Oulette), who handles the more technical aspects of the “end of life” ceremony that everyone takes part in once they hit the not-so-magic number. Speaking of which, Ellie is closing in on 50, and, while Kiah is busy learning the ropes of her new job, her mother is busy trying to make the most of her final days, most prominently by making sure she passes down all she can to her loving daughter.
Though the universe established in the film might raise a lot of questions— like how in the heck did the whole world ever come together to agree on these pretty drastic steps? — Fleming side-steps all the big-picture stuff to focus almost solely on the lives of these three people across just a couple of days. Kiah attends her first EOL ceremony, where a loving couple share little pre-written speeches to each other that almost sound like wedding vows (but spoken at the end of the line instead of the beginning). Then they open a small wooden box, a purple mist wafts out, and they flop over dead. Kiah rips off her gas mask and struggles to reconcile what she just watched, while Daniel offers her some blunt guidance: “Don’t forget to draw.” Later assignments get more complicated, especially when Kiah and Daniel show up to perform an EOL ceremony for a man who’s somehow procured a now-rare handgun and doesn’t necessarily feel like leaving this plane of existence yet. At first, that scene seems designed to really shake up the film’s quiet, existential musings, but it disappointingly ends with a whimper, as Kiah and Daniel simply choose to leave and the scene’s ultimate resolution occurs off-screen.
The filmmaybehints at a budding romance between Daniel and Kiah, although that’s handled with as light a touch as almost everything else.The relationship between Kiah and Ellie is more defined, though they spend much ofCan I Get a Witness?separated and the film really only dives into their emotional distress over Ellie’s impending demise in its closing scenes. All three actors — Oh, Jang, and Oulette — do solid work here without really being given any standout dramatic scenes.
‘Can I Get a Witness?’ Feels a Little Scattershot
Can I Get a Witness?’s biggest failing may be that it flutters through so many different ideas without truly or fully dissecting any of them. There’s a diversion that lays into social media. (In the movie’s future, it went away in 2025 once computers were done away with.) Our main characters ride bikes, and there’s a brief mention of “travel vouchers,” hinting that automobile and air traffic are severely restricted. Couples are limited to just one child, and there are allusions to previous A.I.-instigated havoc. At some point, Earth suffered a “magnetic polar shift” that resulted in most physical media becoming unusable. (People can only watch movies at a museum via projector. Apparently,Duck SoupandZoolandercontinue to age fantastically.) All of these science-fictiony details seem haphazardly thrown together, and they never coalesce into a well-defined future, let alone a believable one. And, since it’s not believable — or different enough from how today’s real world looks — it’s hard for the viewer to buy into it, andCan I Get a Witness?starts to resemble a sterile environmental lecture more than a compelling narrative.
This is especially problematic because the film’s primary conceits end up being underserved. Artists obviously play a big role in this new, unified society, especially ones who can draw, since digital files and printing aren’t used anymore. But we never get a good sense of what exactly happens with Kiah’s drawings after the fact. They’re used to memorialize the dead … somehow. We’re just not entirely sure how. Maybe by the act itself. Meanwhile, some extra flourishes, like little animated bits superimposed around the fringes of the film and too many static shots of tall grass blowing in the wind, feel like either half-formed ideas or needless padding.
There’s a disclaimer in the movie’s credits that reads: “We want to initiate positive conversations about the world we inhabit, how we affect it, and the power of personal agency to change things for the better.” That’s followed by a link tothe film’s websitethat heavily highlights the filmmakers' goal of practicing good sustainability practices during the making of the film. So it’s clear Fleming madeCan I Get a Witness?to address our planet’s various struggles that are weighing on her mind.It’s a noble endeavor, and the film unquestionably feels like an impassioned work. But sometimes merely asking questions isn’t enough, and it’s tough to suss out any hardline stance the film takes. I don’t think Fleming is truly suggesting that our situation would be far improved if we just started offing everyone at age 50. But I’m honestly unsure that she’snotsuggesting that either!Can I Get a Witness?certainly lays out a troubling checklist of urgent problems we humans face. Too bad the movie itself doesn’t convey that same sense of urgency within its own lightly-spun tale.
Can I Get a Witness?had its World Premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival.
Can I Get a Witness?
Can I Get a Witness? has its heart in the right place, though never capitalizes on all the questions it raises.
