![]() Perhaps its my close proximity to the Amish (location, not mindset) that makes almost everything about Witness feel so natural and organic.so if you're not at all familiar with the culture, your mileage may vary. It's simply a well-paced, well-acted, and thoroughly original drama that's easy to get lost in. Maurice Jarre's terrific score also blankets the film in a period-specific atmosphere that's aged just a little-honestly, it wouldn't be too far out of place in Blade Runner-but very little else about Witness feels 30 years old. ![]() We're never in more than one setting for more than 20 minutes or so (the one exception being a more longer stretch of Book's "adaptation" about two-thirds of the way though), which leads to a stop-and-start pace that allows plenty of time to process and prepare for the film's bloody beginning and end. When it's time to make a decision, the inevitable showdown with his fellow officers makes it a little easier.įeaturing a terrific turn by Harrison Ford and fine supporting performances (keep an eye out for Viggo Mortensen in his film debut), Witness offers as many sudden tonal shifts as its story hints at. But, as Witness not-so-subtly points out, few are capable of a sudden and major lifestyle change, and Book is no exception: he's a proud man, unaccustomed to the 19th century mindset of his new brethren, and hopelessly attracted to Rachel. Though tax records and occasional trips into town don't render them completely off the grid, Book will have to blend in while the Philly situation cools down a little. Nursing an injury, he lays low in the company of Rachel's father Eli (Jan Rubes), Daniel Hochleitner (Alexander Godunov), and several dozen other members of the neighboring Amish in Lancaster County. Naturally, Book wants to protect his valuable witness and, with few options, advises them to stay with his sister Elaine (Patti LuPone).but after he confides in his boss (Josef Sommer) and is confronted by the prime suspect only hours later, Book knows the score and flees for Amish country with the Lapps in tow. ![]() He's questioned by local authorities, including Detective John Book (Ford) and his partner Sergeant Elton Carter (Brent Jennings), but the case takes a sharp left turn when the victim and suspect are revealed to be police officers. One side is represented by young Amish widow Rachel Lapp (Kelly McGillis) and her son Samuel (Lukas Haas) the latter witnesses a brutal murder at a train station bathroom in Philadelphia. Typically skimmed over because of its rural setting and understated performances, Witness packs no shortage of intrigue after two distinctly different cultures intersect one fateful afternoon. It's rarely spoken in the same breath as The Empire Strikes Back, Blade Runner, or Raiders of the Lost Ark, but Peter Weir's Witness (1985) is one of the best films in Harrison Ford's filmography.
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