***SPOILERS*** Love does strange things to people and the case of NYC office building janitor Daryl Deever, William Hurt, is a very good example. Throughout the entire film "Eyewitness" Daryl doesn't have a clue to why he's a marked man and what the reasons are for someone, or someone's, wanting him dead. What's more he doesn't even seen interested why! The guy is hopelessly in love.
Even at the end of the movie after a Charge of the Light Brigade down New York City's heavily traveled West Side with more bullets flying then even during the gunfight at O.K Corral Daryl doesn't at all seem to care what the reason for all this action and excitement is all about! All he has on his mind, all throughout the movie, is making it with channel Five TV live at five anchorwomen classy and pretty Tony Sokolow, Sigourney Weaver, who he's been secretly in love with ever since he saw her on TV six months ago.
Working as a janitor on the night shift Daryl finds that someone broke into the office of Mr. Long, Choa Li Chi, and murdered him. Daryl's friend and former army buddy Aldo Murcer, James Woods, had it out with Mr.Long and that argument cost him his job as a janitor. Aldo was also in the building the night that Mr. Long was murdered. This puts Daryl in a very uncomfortable position and has him withhold information from the police.
Seeing news reporter and anchorwomen Tony Sokolow at the scene Daryl just can't keep from trying to get to talk to her. Daryl concocts this BS story that he saw, which he didn't, the person who did in the unfortunate Mr.Long just to strike up a conversation and relationship with her. This harmless chat in the end leads the killer to overplay his hand thinking that Daryl indeed knows who he is and thus has to be eliminated! This also puts Tony's life in danger as well.
Terrific performances by all involved with William Hurt as Daryl the janitor who grew up on a farm who likes and understands horses. It's that valuable talent that in the end saved his life. Sigourney Weaver as the talented part-time concert pianist turned TV news anchorwoman who's attempt to get the big scoop on the Mr. Long murder uncovers things about a very close friend of her that she would rather not have known about.
James Woods in one of his earliest roles as the creepy and overbearing Aldo who's attempt to get his best friend Daryl to marry his sister Linda, Pamela Reed, backfires when Dayral meets Tony and the sparks really begin to fly. There was also a very moving scene between Dyral and Linda at her job where they both realized that they were not, and never were, in love with each other. Which freed them from the act that they were playing and allowed them to go on with their lives without the meddling and annoying Aldo running their lives into the ground. Aldo, if he didn't have enough problems already, is also into the mob for as much as $50,000.00 and with the cops looking for him in the Mr. Long killing, which the poor sap is innocent of, has him just about on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
The exciting ending where Daryl, who's mind is still in a complete fog to why someone want's to murder him, goes to meet the killer thinking that he's Tony's father and, I guess, wanting to ask him for his daughters hand in marriage. Instead Daryl is set up to be killed by the killer and his accomplice who, like Daryl, have totally different ideas to just how much and what he knows about the Mr. Long murder.
Even at the end of the movie after a Charge of the Light Brigade down New York City's heavily traveled West Side with more bullets flying then even during the gunfight at O.K Corral Daryl doesn't at all seem to care what the reason for all this action and excitement is all about! All he has on his mind, all throughout the movie, is making it with channel Five TV live at five anchorwomen classy and pretty Tony Sokolow, Sigourney Weaver, who he's been secretly in love with ever since he saw her on TV six months ago.
Working as a janitor on the night shift Daryl finds that someone broke into the office of Mr. Long, Choa Li Chi, and murdered him. Daryl's friend and former army buddy Aldo Murcer, James Woods, had it out with Mr.Long and that argument cost him his job as a janitor. Aldo was also in the building the night that Mr. Long was murdered. This puts Daryl in a very uncomfortable position and has him withhold information from the police.
Seeing news reporter and anchorwomen Tony Sokolow at the scene Daryl just can't keep from trying to get to talk to her. Daryl concocts this BS story that he saw, which he didn't, the person who did in the unfortunate Mr.Long just to strike up a conversation and relationship with her. This harmless chat in the end leads the killer to overplay his hand thinking that Daryl indeed knows who he is and thus has to be eliminated! This also puts Tony's life in danger as well.
Terrific performances by all involved with William Hurt as Daryl the janitor who grew up on a farm who likes and understands horses. It's that valuable talent that in the end saved his life. Sigourney Weaver as the talented part-time concert pianist turned TV news anchorwoman who's attempt to get the big scoop on the Mr. Long murder uncovers things about a very close friend of her that she would rather not have known about.
James Woods in one of his earliest roles as the creepy and overbearing Aldo who's attempt to get his best friend Daryl to marry his sister Linda, Pamela Reed, backfires when Dayral meets Tony and the sparks really begin to fly. There was also a very moving scene between Dyral and Linda at her job where they both realized that they were not, and never were, in love with each other. Which freed them from the act that they were playing and allowed them to go on with their lives without the meddling and annoying Aldo running their lives into the ground. Aldo, if he didn't have enough problems already, is also into the mob for as much as $50,000.00 and with the cops looking for him in the Mr. Long killing, which the poor sap is innocent of, has him just about on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
The exciting ending where Daryl, who's mind is still in a complete fog to why someone want's to murder him, goes to meet the killer thinking that he's Tony's father and, I guess, wanting to ask him for his daughters hand in marriage. Instead Daryl is set up to be killed by the killer and his accomplice who, like Daryl, have totally different ideas to just how much and what he knows about the Mr. Long murder.