Testigo íntimo (Intimate Witness), the new film by Argentine filmmaker Santiago Fernández Calvete, follows four characters tangled in a web of deceit and lies as they try to make their hidden wishes come true. There’s Facundo (Felipe Colombo), a smart, young lawyer on the rise who works for his mother-in-law (Graciela Alfano), an influential and dominant established lawyer. Apparently, Facundo has a normal life, and yet he’s cheating on his wife, Ángeles (Evangelina Cueto) with no less than his brother’s girlfriend, Violeta (Guadalupe Docampo).
The thing is that it doesn’t take long for Facundo’s brother, Rafael (Leonardo Saggese), a boxing fan, to find out his girlfriend is cheating on him and with whom. So it’s only a matter of time until the cheaters are caught in the act. But an unfortunate event takes the brothers by surprise: Violeta is found dead in her home. And there are no traces of the possible killer. Rafael thinks Facundo might have done it, and Facundo feels Rafael is the guilty one. Either way, they are both stuck with Violeta’s corpse at home. And this is only the beginning of a long and winding road.
Like the effective horror feature La segunda muerte, Fernández Calvete’s debut film, Testigo íntimo also has a good cinematography that conveys both an asphyxiating sense of space and an air of sordidness. Well-framed compositions and the right shades express the tribulations of these characters left to their own devices. And while the incidental music, as well as the overall sound designs, often proves to be ominous, other times it just doesn’t do the trick for it feels repetitive and unnecessary.
The plot itself plays out in a very straightforward manner, with few surprises and insights but hitting most of the right notes nonetheless. It’s all done by the book, but that doesn’t make it any less efficient. Performances are basically correct, with some missteps here and there, and with some scenes where Felipe Colombo and Leonardo Saggese do a good job. Their algid confrontations do ring true and generate some nervousness. Upon solving the crime, the scenario does make sense, but further development of some parts of the story would’ve been welcome — just like more tension and suspense would’ve made a difference for the better.
