I'm a little bit puzzled to see this film so well-regarded in certain circles, and especially by the Academy. I found this to be enjoyable for sure, but ultimately somewhat of a dud for me. My main complaint is that it falls into that 40s and 50s Old Hollywood trap of presenting a love story that feels so forced that I can't suspend my disbelief. It hooked me pretty good with the inciting incident, but it hits a bit of a roadblock once Book makes it to the home of Eli, Rachel, and Samuel. And the problem is that once you disconnect from the love story, you kinda disconnect from all of it. I don't think it's so much of a chemistry issue - Ford and McGillis do a fine job - but there's a certain type of whirlwind romance story that never worked for me. Most of the time when this happens - like in a Hitchcock film, like Notorious - I can look past it. I had a hard time here when it seems like a bulk of the second act is comprised of Book and Rachel glancing at one another from opposite ends of a field and shyly looking away.
And then the actual thriller plot, with the crooked cops really left a bad taste in my mouth because they're so cartoonishly evil and given no sense of character other than, "we're bad cops because we're bad and we like... uh, money, and, uh, any good cops who get in our way are gonna get what's coming for them. Because we're a cult--uh, I mean we're a club with our own rules."
That's the closest we get to some sort of understanding, but even then, the sense of corruption all around Book and his partner just takes such a backseat to, once again, let Book and Rachel dance to Sam Cooke. It's a cute scene, but it just feels like there are two movies competing for airtime, and unfortunately, I was more interested in the crooked cops. It's also a head-scratcher that this won best screenplay. I didn't find it to be very memorable if I'm being honest.
Also, I gotta talk about the music. When the film started, I was super into the score, but then they do some funky things, like in the final shootout, as the other Amish folk are coming out of the workdord after Samuel rings the bell, we shift pretty abruptly from this high-octane, pulse-pounding music as Books boss has a gun to Rachel's head, to something jaunty sweet that sonds like some LOTR Shire-ass music. I was actually pretty mad at that, because it sucks all the tension from the scene, a scene that still isn't over. And looking back, there was a lot of that. Again, the competing airtime issue.
And the big marquee issue I have - which is more so an issue with the response to this movie, rather than the movie itself - is that I do not in any way, shape, or form, think Harrison Ford deserved a Best Actor nomination for this. No way in hell. It's a fine performance, but no finer than any Ford performance before or since. AND, on top of that, he gives an actual Oscar-worthy performance in Peter Weir's next film, The Mosquito Coast. It almost feels like he was robbed of a nomination in that one because he got a pity one for Witness! Damn shame. Seriously, if you haven't seen The Mosquito Coast, go watch it. It changed my perception of Harrison Ford as an actor in terms of what he could do.
So yeah, that kinda covers it. This wasn't a mess by any means. It goes down smooth, which is maybe part of its charm and appeal all these years later. While I'm glad I watched it, I can't say I rank it in the top 5 Weir movies.
Quick Ranking so far, of the ones I've seen:
Truman Show
Dead Poets Society
The Mosquito Coast
Picnic At Hanging Rock
Witness
I guess I've only seen 5, so it makes the list by default.
Anyway, that's Witness.
EDIT: Coming back here to touch on something that I should have before: the Amish of it all. This film does a nice job of riding the line between gawkery gaze at something culturally foreign and neutral observer of a culture's customs. In the beginning, when Book buys Rachel and Samuel hotdogs, and they pray before eating and Book is all like, "HUH?! WHAT'S THIS NOW?! OH, RIGHT, IT'S YOUR CULTURE," I kinda assumed this movie was gonna be a lot of that.
(He doesn't say that out loud FYI, but his face communicates something to that effect).
And what follows is less of that, but it's still somewhat present. Like the film is juggling a third ball, which is "we need to teach people, warmly, about the lifestyle and culture of the Amish."
And it doesn't do the thing that these tend to do, which is beat you over the head with the idea that the Amish are somehow more civilized than modern society, even though they lack the technology and modern-day conveniences. And I'm also glad that Book doesn't opt to stay at the end, as that just wouldn't feel realistic. The film might be subtley saying, "modern life breeds the crooked cops that show up at the end," but, eh, it's not a total 1-to-1.
Just thought I'd come back and add that, because it seems important since when you say the name "Witness," 90% of the time you're gonna hear, "that Amish movie?"
I'm a little bit puzzled to see this film so well-regarded in certain circles, and especially by the Academy. I found this to be enjoyable for sure, but ultimately somewhat of a dud for me. My main complaint is that it falls into that 40s and 50s Old Hollywood trap of presenting a love story that feels so forced that I can't suspend my disbelief. It hooked me pretty good with the inciting incident, but it hits a bit of a roadblock once Book makes it to the home of Eli, Rachel, and Samuel. And the problem is that once you disconnect from the love story, you kinda disconnect from all of it. I don't think it's so much of a chemistry issue - Ford and McGillis do a fine job - but there's a certain type of whirlwind romance story that never worked for me. Most of the time when this happens - like in a Hitchcock film, like Notorious - I can look past it. I had a hard time here when it seems like a bulk of the second act is comprised of Book and Rachel glancing at one another from opposite ends of a field and shyly looking away.
And then the actual thriller plot, with the crooked cops really left a bad taste in my mouth because they're so cartoonishly evil and given no sense of character other than, "we're bad cops because we're bad and we like... uh, money, and, uh, any good cops who get in our way are gonna get what's coming for them. Because we're a cult--uh, I mean we're a club with our own rules."
That's the closest we get to some sort of understanding, but even then, the sense of corruption all around Book and his partner just takes such a backseat to, once again, let Book and Rachel dance to Sam Cooke. It's a cute scene, but it just feels like there are two movies competing for airtime, and unfortunately, I was more interested in the crooked cops. It's also a head-scratcher that this won best screenplay. I didn't find it to be very memorable if I'm being honest.
Also, I gotta talk about the music. When the film started, I was super into the score, but then they do some funky things, like in the final shootout, as the other Amish folk are coming out of the workdord after Samuel rings the bell, we shift pretty abruptly from this high-octane, pulse-pounding music as Books boss has a gun to Rachel's head, to something jaunty sweet that sonds like some LOTR Shire-ass music. I was actually pretty mad at that, because it sucks all the tension from the scene, a scene that still isn't over. And looking back, there was a lot of that. Again, the competing airtime issue.
And the big marquee issue I have - which is more so an issue with the response to this movie, rather than the movie itself - is that I do not in any way, shape, or form, think Harrison Ford deserved a Best Actor nomination for this. No way in hell. It's a fine performance, but no finer than any Ford performance before or since. AND, on top of that, he gives an actual Oscar-worthy performance in Peter Weir's next film, The Mosquito Coast. It almost feels like he was robbed of a nomination in that one because he got a pity one for Witness! Damn shame. Seriously, if you haven't seen The Mosquito Coast, go watch it. It changed my perception of Harrison Ford as an actor in terms of what he could do.
So yeah, that kinda covers it. This wasn't a mess by any means. It goes down smooth, which is maybe part of its charm and appeal all these years later. While I'm glad I watched it, I can't say I rank it in the top 5 Weir movies.
Quick Ranking so far, of the ones I've seen:
Truman Show
Dead Poets Society
The Mosquito Coast
Picnic At Hanging Rock
Witness
I guess I've only seen 5, so it makes the list by default.
Anyway, that's Witness.
EDIT: Coming back here to touch on something that I should have before: the Amish of it all. This film does a nice job of riding the line between gawkery gaze at something culturally foreign and neutral observer of a culture's customs. In the beginning, when Book buys Rachel and Samuel hotdogs, and they pray before eating and Book is all like, "HUH?! WHAT'S THIS NOW?! OH, RIGHT, IT'S YOUR CULTURE," I kinda assumed this movie was gonna be a lot of that.
(He doesn't say that out loud FYI, but his face communicates something to that effect).
And what follows is less of that, but it's still somewhat present. Like the film is juggling a third ball, which is "we need to teach people, warmly, about the lifestyle and culture of the Amish."
And it doesn't do the thing that these tend to do, which is beat you over the head with the idea that the Amish are somehow more civilized than modern society, even though they lack the technology and modern-day conveniences. And I'm also glad that Book doesn't opt to stay at the end, as that just wouldn't feel realistic. The film might be subtley saying, "modern life breeds the crooked cops that show up at the end," but, eh, it's not a total 1-to-1.
Just thought I'd come back and add that, because it seems important since when you say the name "Witness," 90% of the time you're gonna hear, "that Amish movie?"
