Thoughts on Witness

via thecinephilliac.com

"Rachel? Rachel. If we'd made love last night, I'd have to stay. Or you'd have to leave."

Witness is three movies packaged into one.

At one angle of the proverbial triangle, we have the strong, forbidden love between not-exactly incognito Philadelphia police detective John Book (Harrison Ford) and the widowed Rachel (Kelly McGillis). Rachel is an Amish woman, with her roles defined and unaltered, until she, son Samuel (Lukas Haas) and father Eli (Jan Rubeš) are obligated to shelter Book. Rachel and Book's relationship is taboo as it is, but I briefly imagined how things would have played out if he was non-white, or the romance was between two women. Neither scenario would have been allowed* for a major studio release in 1985, but they would add an extra layer of drama for the leads.
*Remember, we're a few months away from the muted lesbianism of The Color Purple. I'll admit McGillis' real life homosexuality led me to consider the idea of Rachel and Jane Book.

At the second angle, we have a fish out of water storyline. For much of the movie, the water's more interesting than the fish. It's relatively easy for Book to win over Rachel** and Samuel, not so much Eli and the community. There are times where Witness feels like a companion film to Footloose. The dance to "Wonderful World"*** and its aftermath**** wouldn't have been too jarring in the latter.

**I don't know anything about the Amish custom for widows, but considering Daniel (Alexander Godunov) can make his first move the day of Jacob Lapp's funeral, I assume Rachel can remarry.

***The dance is a great scene, one I found more memorable than Book seeing Rachel's breasts or their later big kiss on his last night in the community. But, I'm taking away points for using Greg Chapman's cover. Sam Cooke's yearning vocals ("But I'm tryyyin' to be!") would have enhanced the moment. We're currently at 2:1 in favor of covers in terms of 1985's memorable movie music.

****Sorry for all the digressions, but I spent Eli and Rachel's exchange more concerned about whether or not she would lose Samuel rather than her father or new love.

"What is it with you? Is this the Ordnung?"

"I have done nothing against the rule of the Ordnung."

"Nothing? You bring this man to our house with his gun of the hand. You bring fear to this house. Fear of English with guns coming after him."

"I've committed no sin."

"Maybe. Maybe not yet. But, Rachel, it does not look ... You know there has been talk. Talk about going to the Bishop and having you shunned."

"That is idle talk."

"Do not take it lightly, Rachel! They can do it! They can do it just like that. You know what it means, shunning? I cannot sit at table with you. I cannot take a thing from your hand. I cannot go to worship with you. Child ... do not go so far."

"I am not a child."

"But you are acting like one."

"I'll be the judge of that."

"No. They will be the judge of that. And so will I. If you shame me ..."

"You shame yourself."

Directed by Peter Weir, with a screenplay by Earl W. Wallace and William Kelley from their story with Pamela Wallace, Witness is weakest at its third angle. Maybe because it's dwarfed by the romance and character studying or maybe because police corruption that goes all the way to the top isn't a fresh idea -- either way, the thriller aspect comes across as an afterthought. Nevertheless, it results in a few good scenes, like when Samuel identifies McFee (Danny Glover) or when Schaeffer (Josef Sommer) interrogates Carter (Brent Jennings).

Witness is a special movie. It's not especially innovative. It's sometimes feels like it's biting off more than it can chew. But it makes up for these deficiencies by being beautiful, well-acted and engaging.

"You be careful out among them English."

Recommended.

Thoughts:

-- "Watch it, Frank, he's gonna hit you with his Bible."

-- Box Office: Grossing $68.7 million on a $12 million budget, this opened at No. 2, wouldn't reach No. 1 until its fifth weekend due to Beverly Hills Cop's popularity, but still came in at No. 8 for 1985.

-- Awards Watch: Nominated for eight Oscars including Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Director, this won for its screenplay and editing. Snubbed by the Oscars, McGillis was among Witness' nominees for the BAFTAs and Golden Globes. The film went zero for six with the latter awards, while Maurice Jarre's score was the lone BAFTA win out of seven nominations. It lost the Grammy to the score for Beverly Hills Cop. Finally, Haas was nominated for a Young Artist Award and the film was recognized by the Writers Guild of America and Edgar awards.

-- Hey, It's ...!: Patti LuPone, who I believe went from this to the Broadway production of Accidental Death of an Anarchist. Viggo Mortensen, as Moses, had the inverse experience. He passed on a Shakespeare in the Park production of Henry V (starring Patti's ex, Kevin Kline) to make Witness.

-- Critic's Corner, the movie: Roger Ebert loved Witness. "It is a movie about adults, whose lives have dignity and whose choices matter to them. And it is also one hell of a thriller," he wrote. David Denby called the movie remarkable, "both an exciting thriller and a beautifully directed mediation on violence." Vincent Canby, meanwhile, wasn't all that impressed with the storytelling. "There's not a character, an event or a plot twist that one hasn't anticipated long before it's arrival, which gives one the feeling of waiting around for people who are always late," he wrote. "It's so virtuous it's condemning itself," Pauline Kael wrote.

-- Critic's Corner, Ford: He received great reviews. Ebert: "Ford has never given a better performance in a movie." "He's not an actor with a lot of depth, but he has an unusual rapport with the audience," Kael wrote. While observing that Ford isn't a creator of characters like Dustin Hoffman or Robert De Niro, Denby said he "has become a real movie star in the old-fashioned sense -- he's interesting no matter what he's doing."

-- Hey, It's the Mid '80s!: A poster for Jesse Jackson's presidential campaign is visible at the Happy Valley. There's also the mullet sported by Elaine (LuPone) and that breakdancing classes are available through the youth anti-drug program McFee founded. 

-- McFee must have shot John pretty late at night. I say that because it's dark when John, Rachel and Samuel leave for the Amish community and daytime when they arrive. Philadelphia to Intercourse, Pennsylvania is a less than 90-minute journey. Then again, John might not have taken the freeway.

-- There's an ambiguous moment that I thought was really effective. When John calls Schaeffer at home, he first reaches Mrs. Schaeffer. She's clearly unnerved by the call. We can assume she thinks John's dangerous. Is it because he might be responsible for the cop killings? Or because Mrs. Schaeffer also knows what her husband's involved in and it's getting closer to being revealed?

-- "We're like the Amish. We're a cult, too. A club. With our own rules. John has broken those rules. As you're breaking them now."

-- Next: The Breakfast Club. On deck: Vision Quest.