“Witness” distinctive ideas essay
Introduction:
- The movie thriller, ‘Witness’, directed by Peter Weir and staring John Book, a character rendered by the actor
Harrison Ford, depicts the ideal American police detective endeavoring to safeguard the life of a young Amish boy, after he falls “witness” to a murder.
- Theme: - Nature of Man: Good vs Evil: the idea that every person has both good and bad bestowed upon them, however, it is in their nature to utilise the good or bad in different situations.
- Although not used as an overall stand out theme, it is subtly inserted into the characters and the worlds they live in.
Paragraph 1:
- SCENE 1: Book’s gun - Samuel finds the gun, Rachel finds out, and Eli speaks to Samuel
- GOOD:
- John’s nature to react the way he did when he saw Samuel with the gun
- Rachel (mother’s) instinct to respond to the scenario that way she did - represents the good in the Amish people “while you’re in this house, I insist that you respect our ways”
- The nature of Samuel - tell Eli that he would only use the gun to kill bad people - “I would only kill the bad man”
- Eli educates Samuel on what is right from wrong.
- EVIL:
- John Book’s influence over Samuel, which sees Samuel curious to try and handle the gun.
- Catalyst for violence.
- Eli “unclean thing”
- Eli implies that Book is amoral by bringing the gun into the house.
- TECHNIQUES:
- Camera angles - close up shots (places emphasis on emotions/reactions and subject matter with little or no reference to the background), medium shots (waist upwards, observing facial expressions and body language, surroundings and environment)
- Lighting - natural lighting (however light is coming from behind which portrays negativity - Book and Samuel scene), artificial light (dim light showing night-time
- Sound effects (dialogue - voices)
Paragraph 2:
- SCENE 3: Book goes to town and finds out about the death of Carter (work partner)
- GOOD:
- Amish people don’t fight back with tourists - possible members of Western world
- Daniel does not retaliate to the actions of the tourists - represented as the bigger person/ from the better community - “It’s not our way” - Eli
- John’s nature to react to the tourists in order to protect the Amish - he understands the good in them and that they should not be treated in such a manner.
- EVIL:
- Makes a comparison to the western world being bad by making fun of the Amish.
- Portrayal of the true western word - all of John’s actions - not totally adapted to the Amish society as of yet
- After making contact with the Western World, John becomes aggravated after finding out about the death of
Carter and so, this influences him to retaliate to the actions of the tourists.
- Although Eli tells Book that its not their way to fight back, John says - “It’s my way”
- TECHNIQUES:
- Camera angles - dolly shot (keeps up with the subject/characters by means of a track), wide shots (shows the environment that the characters are in and then focuses on main subjects), close ups (shows the details of the characters, reactions and emotions)
- Lighting - natural lighting (enhances the effect of the