414 Words on Witness (1985)
short form review
Two instances in Witness reveal its intelligence and elevate it beyond the current quagmire of not-quite-cult status it occupies.
The first is in its love story between John Book (Harrison Ford) and Rachel (Kelly McGillis). Never once does their attraction devolve into a proclamation of love because it isn’t. Movie romance so frequently mistakes attraction for love but not here. After spending much time together, there is an obvious attraction between the two, buffeted by their difference in culture and religion. Rachel sensually bathes and allows Book to view her undressed extensively. He does not give in to their desire for each other, out of concern for her continued existence within the Amish community. Never do they proclaim any affection for each other. Instead upon learning Book will be departing the home the next morning she places her white bonnet on the table and they kiss in the field. His final departure is wordless, they simply share one last look at the other.
Second is a scene that in any lesser movie would be part of a comedic montage of Book adjusting and acclimating to the Amish way of living. In town his group are confronted by a band of teens who antagonize Daniel Hochleitner (Alexander Godunov). Book, refusing to play pacifist, meets the teens and beats on one. In most other films this would be separate and isolated from the rest of it, perfect for the montage. However here it is both violent and consequential. Book breaks the teen’s nose and we observe the bloody result of his violence. It is what draws attention, not only of the surrounding crowd but also of the police, who have been told to lookout for a rogue officer hiding amongst the Amish, with only a common last name, Lapp, to identify them. Book’s refutation of pacifism in the face of rowdy teens is what results in the final confrontation occurring.
Director Peter Weir has a capable eye for capturing the beauty of the land, and juxtaposing it to the urban. Shooting the Amtrak train Rachel and her son, the titular witness Samuel (Lukas Haas), from the ground looking up morphs it in a larger scale that likely matches that of Samuel who is journeying to the city for the first time. It is the intelligence of the screenplay and writing of these characters that really wins me over, with restraint matching that of its would-be lovers, credited to William Kelley, Pamela Wallace, and Earl W. Wallace.