Going from one perception of dystopia (O’Dessa) to another, Can I Get a Witness? proposes a much “sunnier” version. At least, on the surface.

Canadian filmmaker Ann Marie Fleming pitches a reality where the Earth’s sustainability is balanced and resolved. The only trade-offs being that nobody can use technology or travel or live past 50. If you’re reaching that age, an end-of-life ceremony (of the sacrifice’s preference) is prepared where you’ll self-euthanize yourself. In your presence, as you reach the final moments of your life, a surveyor keeps a steady watch as a “documentor” records your final moments. Preferably, these witnesses are young with the “documentor” being an artist. Since cameras are defunct, the “documentor” draws a picture.

While this premise sounds intriguing though bordering on parody, too much of Fleming’s movie sounds like someone reading off rules to a board game. And considering how deadpan the performances are, most likely to depict how emotionally stunted the population is to this new normal, Can I Get a Witness? plays out like a sleepier version of Training Day. As intriguing as that may sound, have I mentioned how the film repeats these end-of-life ceremonies for nearly two hours? Have I mentioned the dazed conversations about life and death? And, how the animated work of the “documentor” comes to life to offer some levity for the viewer? The movie tries hard to break up the pacing. However, the efforts are tedious.

Fleming’s cartoon Window Horses was a beautiful film of poetry and life experience. Can I Get a Witness? may have been an interesting full-fledged lucid animated film for adults (ala Waking Life) but, as Fleming’s partially live-action debut, it’s a real sci-fi slog (ala The Congress).

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Addison Wylie: @AddisonWylie