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From Wikipedia: Filmed in 1984, “Witness” was released theatrically by Paramount Pictures in February 1985. Directed by Peter Weir and starring Harrison Ford, Kelly McGillis, and Lukas Haas, the film went on to become a sleeper hit, grossing over $116 million worldwide.
At the 58th Academy Awards, it earned eight nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Ford, winning Best Original Screenplay and Best Film Editing. It was also nominated for seven BAFTA Awards, winning one for Maurice Jarre’s score, and six Golden Globe Awards. William Kelley and Earl W. Wallace won the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay and the 1986 Edgar Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay presented by the Mystery Writers of America.
Genre: crime, drama, romance.
How to use this spoiler-free synopsis by story arcs
Based on the story arcs, I divided this movie into three parts, indicating the start and end of each part in minute marks. For each part, I narrated the main actions without revealing the twists and turns. Part 3 is the movie’s finale (the last 20 minutes or so); you can just read Part 1, for example, to know what the movie is all about and then go watch the movie.
Part 1 (from start to 40:16)
Rachel Lapp, a widow, travels with her young son Samuel from their Amish community in Pennsylvania to visit her sister in Baltimore.
While waiting at the station for their delayed train to Baltimore, Samuel witnesses the murder of an undercover police officer. At the police station the next day, the detective in charge of the investigation, John Book, asks Samuel to try to identify the man who killed the undercover police officer through a lineup and through the mug shots.
After Samuel identifies the killer, Book informs his superior (and former partner) Chief Paul Schaeffer about the killer’s ties to a two million dollar drug deal four years ago. Chief Schaeffer promises to ask for outside help, including the FBI, to investigate the killer and whoever his accomplices may be in the drug deal. He tells Book to move Samuel and his mother to a safe location.
Notes:
Part 1 spoilers are posted at the bottom portion of this post.
The embedded video below might contain some spoilers that could ruin your viewing of the full film.
Part 2 (from 40:17 to 1:30:55)
Chief Schaeffer pressures the police sergeant who has jurisdiction over the Amish communities in Pennsylvania to find Book. But the police sergeant says that there are thousands of Amish people with the surname “Lapp” and that he doesn’t have the manpower to do a house to house inquiry.
Tension arises between Book and Rachel over his gun, which Samuel found in a drawer.
While still recuperating from his gunshot wound, Book calls up on a public phone his junior detective and says that he will come back to Philadelphia for some unfinished business. But the detective warns him that he’s still too hot and won’t be able to get even a mile of Chief Schaeffer.
Book tries not to stand out among the Amish, and with Eli’s prodding, he begins helping out with the farm chores.
Chancing upon Book and Rachel inside the barn where Book is repairing his car, Eli reprimands Rachel that people in their community are beginning to talk about her and Book; he warns her that she could be shunned by their community.
Notes:
Part 2 spoilers are posted at the bottom portion of this post.
The embedded videos below might contain some spoilers that could ruin your viewing of the full film.
Part 3 (from 1:30:56 to the end)
With McFee and the other dirty police officer, Chief Schaeffer barges into the farmhouse and pressures Rachael to say where Book is. Eli arrives, and as he sees McFee, he shouts out to warn Book.
In the barn, Book orders Samuel to run to a certain farmhouse and hide there; he then tries to start his car. But the other police officer hears it; after entering the barn, he begins shooting at Book with his shotgun.
Note: Part 3 spoilers are posted at the bottom portion of this post.
Historical / cultural backgrounders and other information
1. YouTube videos on the Amish
2. Reviews of “Witness”
Mini-review and discussion on the movie's visuals, cinematography, and editing:
A. Chekhov’s gun (setup and payoff) in “Witness”:
From Wikipedia:
Chekhov’s gun (Chekhov’s rifle; Russian: Чеховское ружьё) is a narrative principle that states that every element in a story must be necessary, and irrelevant elements should be removed. For example, if a writer features a gun in a story, there must be a reason for it, such as it being fired sometime later in the plot. All elements must eventually come into play at some point in the story.
From “Writing 101: What Is Chekhov’s Gun? Learn How to Use Chekhov’s Gun In Your Writing”:
Chekhov’s gun is a dramatic principle that suggests that details within a story or play will contribute to the overall narrative. This encourages writers to not make false promises in their narrative by including extemporaneous details that will not ultimately pay off by the last act, chapter, or conclusion. Chekhov’s gun has become a highly influential theory of effective writing that mandates noticeable details are integrated into the plot trajectory, character development, and mood of the work.
1. The bell: In the middle part of this movie, Rachel signals Eli, Samuel, and Book to have breakfast by ringing the bell outside of their house.
In the last part of this movie, with Chief Schaeffer holding Rachel and Eli at gunpoint, Samuel calls for help from their Amish neighbors by ringing the bell.
2. As Book tries to fit into the Amish way of life, he explores the house and barn with Samuel. In the barn, Samuel shows him a huge grain bin. When Book looks up and asks what’s up in the grain bin, Samuel replies, “Corn.”
In one of the final scenes of this movie, Book kills one of the police officers by releasing the corn from the top of the grain bin.
B. Visual symbolism
1. The gentleness and tranquility of the Amish way of life are symbolized by the gently swaying green grass.
2. Rachel becomes emotionally and sexually involved with Book. It may seem to some viewers that her decision to do so wasn’t fully explained or sufficiently motivated. But it seems to me that even before she met Book, she already had some crisis or misgivings about her faith and her way of life. Examples are her use of the word “whacking” (which she probably heard from Book’s sister) and her sassy attitude and words towards Book as she, Book, and Samuel eat hot dogs. What’s more, her eyes light up when she tells Book that the Mennonites have phones, cars, and refrigerators.
IMO, what visually symbolizes her crisis of faith is the woman’s dress on the scarecrow (shown the day after Book stopped himself from making love to Rachel).
3. Perhaps, the most beautifully staged shots in this movie are in the farewell scene between Book and Rachel at the end of movie. Despite their emotional and sexual bond, the gulf between them — an Amish woman and a hardbitten Philadelphia detective — and their ways of life is too great for them to overcome. This gulf is symbolized in the following ways:
(a) While Book is outside of the house, Rachel is inside her house and boxed in by the door posts. Notice also that they’re shot with a Dutch angle.
(b) The medium shot of Book shows in the background the long upward road that leads away from the house.
C. Visual cues
“Visual cues” are explained in an excellent series of articles from “My Drama List” by someone with the username “3GGG.” Although the articles refer to K-dramas, the visual cues described in them can also be used in explaining the staging and blocking in Western movies and dramas.
“Popular Visual Cues found in K-Dramas, Part 1: visual ways to establish a conflict, division, or fight between two or more characters”
“Popular Visual Cues in K-Dramas, Part 2: boxing to establish a character’s vulnerability, solitude, or fear; comfort and respite; change; danger; showdown”
“Popular Visual Cues in K-Dramas, Part 3: Dutch angle”
“Popular Visual Cues in K-Dramas, Part 4 Interpersonal cues (using cues simultaneously or one after another)”
The YT video “The Brilliant Cinematography of Parasite” by Thomas Flight (5:04 mark) shows how director Bong Joon-ho used lines to depict the division between the social classes, between the rich family and the poor family.
1. Eli stops Rachel from screaming (thus alerting Chief Schaeffer) when they see Samuel in the house (after Book ordered him to escape). Notice that Samuel is boxed in by the door posts to depict or reinforce the emotional or psychological tension of the scene.
2. As they search for a potential suspect in the murder, Book and his junior detective take Samuel and Rachel to a rundown section of Philadelphia. Notice that their car is shot with a slight Dutch angle (unless of course, if the street is actually lopsided).
3. In the 1st picture below, Samuel sees the picture of narcotics officer James McFee. Several shots later (2nd picture), he points out to Book that McFee is the killer. Notice that in both shots, Samuel and Book are shot with a slight Dutch angle.
4. As Chief Schaeffer threatens Book and the Amish with his shotgun, Rachel stands frozen in terror against a wall. She’s boxed in the lines in the wall to depict or reinforce her emotional or psychological tension.
D. Leading lines and other shots that I like
Studio Binder in its article titled “Rules of Shot Composition in Film: A Definitive Guide” says:
“Leading lines are actual lines (or sometimes imaginary ones) in a shot, that lead the eye to key elements in the scene. Artists use this technique to direct the viewer’s eye but they also use it to connect the character to essential objects, situations, or secondary subjects.”
Leading lines may be straight or curved; they may lead directly to the subject or to the subject plane; they may come from either left or right. Considering that we read from left to right, my personal preference is that they come from the left going to the right.
1. Book and Chief Schaeffer are in a standoff as Chief Schaeffer threatens Rachel with his gun. Notice the line on the wall that lead our eyes towards Book.
2. As Chief Schaeffer threatens Book and the Amish with his shotgun, Rachel stands frozen in terror against a wall. Notice the line on the wall that lead our eyes towards her.
3. As the horse-drawn carriage disappears from view, we then see some Amish people slowly appear in the grass fields.
4. With their guns, Chief Schaeffer, McFee, and the other dirty police officer walk menacingly towards Rachel and Eli’s farmhouse. This image contrasts sharply with the image of the Amish people going to the farmhouse to give Rachel, Eli, and Samuel comfort during the wake for Rachel’s husband.
5. I stand to be corrected, but I think that this movie uses cross dissolve only once. This cross dissolve is used to depict or reinforce Book’s doubts and hesitation about entering into a relationship with Rachel.
E. Short siding in a 1985 movie?
In the pictures below of Rachel, Book, and Samuel, you’ll see that they’re shot with what is called lead room, nose room, or breathng space. These terms refer to the space in front of a subject that allows the viewer’s eye to follow the subject’s gaze or movement.
In my reviews of the cinematography of Korean dramas, I’ve ranted against how Korean directors and cinematographers in recent years have run berserk in using “short siding” to depict or reinforce emotional or psychological tension in a scene. As far as I know, short siding became prominent with Tom Hooper’s 2010 movie “The King's Speech” and with the 2014 US TV drama “Mr. Robot.”
I was thus surprised when I saw these two short sided shots of Samuel and Book in the scene where Book catches Samuel picking up his loaded gun from a drawer. As Book takes all the bullets from his gun, he sternly tells Samuel that a loaded gun is very dangerous. As you can see in the pictures below, Samuel is fully short sided. Book, meanwhile, seems to be dead center in the frame, but he’s actually slightly short sided.
Part 1 spoilers:
From a newspaper clipping inside a display cabinet at the police station, Samuel identifies the killer as decorated narcotics officer James McFee.
In the shoot out at the parking garage with McFee, Book sustains a gunshot wound in the stomach. As he takes Rachel and Samuel back to their farm house in Pennsylvania, he calls up his junior detective and tells him to get rid of Rachel’s and Samuel’s records in the police station. He also cautions him about Chief Schaeffer.
At the farm, Book crashes his car against the pole of a bird house; before losing consciousness, he warns Rachel that if he’s found, Samuel will also be found.
Eli, Rachel’s father-in-law, gets an Amish man to treat Book’s wound. When the man says that Book needs a real doctor, Rachel pleads with him that Samuel’s life is in danger.
Part 2 spoilers:
After repairing the battery in his car, Book dances with Rachel in the barn. But Eli chances upon them. Later on, after helping out in the barn raising, Book goes to see Rachel but stops himself from making love to her.
After finding out that his junior detective has been killed, Book calls up Chief Schaeffer and threatens to come after him.
Rachel finds out from Eli that Book is leaving the next day; she runs out to him on the field, and they kiss passionately.
At the town, Book has a run-in with some rowdy tourists who are harassing some of the Amish. The shopkeeper who saw what happened becomes concerned about the incident harming the tourism business and reports it to the police. Chief Schaeffer thus finds out where Book is hiding.
Part 3 spoilers:
Book traps and kills the dirty police officer inside the grain bin. After finding the officer’s shotgun, he kills McFee.
Upon hearing the gunshots, Samuel runs back to the farmhouse.
At gunpoint, Chief Schaeffer herds Rachel and Eli out to the barn. But on Eli’s signal, Samuel begins tolling the bell that alerts the Amish men and women from nearby fields to rush to the farmhouse.
With a shotgun, Chief Schaeffer faces off with the Amish men and women. But Book shouts at him that he can’t kill all of them; he tells Chief Schaeffer that it’s over.
After Chief Schaeffer is arrested, Book says goodbye to Samuel and to Rachel.
