Soon-ho's growing friendship with Ji-woo is one earned as he increasingly understands how her mind work, but his progress with her is tainted by his self-interest. In opposition for the prosecution is Hee-joong (Lee Kyu-hyung), a younger and far more nervous lawyer who has already managed to connect with Ji-woo by better understanding her autism and how this affects her.ĭespite the film’s set-up being one of a courtroom drama, it is the character development outside of court that makes it work. To get his client off the hook, Soon-ho insists on Ji-woo's testimony taking place in court and then attempts to befriend the girl ahead of the hearing. The only witness to this murder or suicide is 15-year old Ji-woo, who saw the drama unfold from her house opposite. He defends Mi-ran, a housekeeper accused of murdering her employer, an elderly man she claims was trying to commit suicide when she tried, but failed, to intervene. Soon-ho is a former human rights lawyers forced to chase the pay checks of defense work to cover his father’s debts and is assigned a murder case. Jung Woo-sung plays Soon-ho, a talented but morally conflicted defense lawyer, while Kim Hyang-gi takes on the role of Ji-woo, the atypical teen with a fierce intellect but severe social anxiety owing to her autism. Nevertheless, backed by impressive performances from the leads, this is still a film that doesn’t sacrifice its pointed message or its entertainment value.INNOCENT WITNESS (2019) Lee Han Emotionally charged courtroom drama comes alive with two outstanding lead performances The odd couple pairing of the ambitious defense lawyer and autistic schoolgirl combine in Innocent Witness to great effect thanks to the performances which punctuate this feel-good drama.
#INNOCENT WITNESS KOREAN MOVIE 2019 TRIAL#
If the murder plot seems less than fleshed out, it’s because the real trial represents a microcosm of the public stigma that is still said to exist within the film’s native audience. INNOCENT WITNESS has been largely praised for its sensitive treatment of autism on screen, and this is because it has a point to be made. While some of this seems to suggest that humanity and the legal system can’t coexist, here the film is arguably at its most didactic. Yet here the script repositions autism as a strength, exposing the unconscious prejudices on both sides of the argument. The final act is primarily a courtroom sequence that relies on some familiar tropes, and it’s here that the film comes closest to exploiting the disorder. Although Ji-Woo is portrayed as being on one of the more extreme ends of the spectrum, playing up the physicality of flat speech of the disorder, there is a studied subtlety to her performance that is exhibited in non-verbal responses to Soon-Ho’s questioning. This is all supported by an excellent performance from the young actor Kim Hyang-Gi, who has most recently starred in a prominent role in the Along with the Gods series. The film is careful to take its time to study Ji-Woo’s intelligence and logical responses, along with her audio/visual sensitivities.
While the actual defence plot may leap over the bounds of believability, mostly because the defence case never feels like it is ever on terribly solid ground to begin with, the strength of Moon Ji-Won and Lee Han’s ( A Melody to Remember) screenplay lays in the interplay between the two leads. As the investigation continues, Soon-Ho has his assumptions tested and learns something about her condition in the process. The only witness to the crime is a Ji-Woo (Kim Hyang-Gi), a schoolgirl with autism. Struggling lawyer Soon-Ho (Jung Woo-Sung) takes on a seemingly hopeless defence case of a woman accused of murdering an old man. INNOCENT WITNESS (증인) attempts to tackle this within the construct of a courtroom drama with surprisingly strong results. While the country has one of the more prevalent rates of diagnoses, numerous sources speak to the massive social stigma attached to the developmental disorder. Top performances all around.Īutism in South Korea is not an easy topic to tackle.
A surprisingly sensitive treatment of autism that also posits the radical notion that lawyers are also humans.
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