Review of Witness (1985) by Danny R — 03 Dec 2011
An atmospheric thriller masterfully directed by Peter Weir, it concerns a recently widowed Amish mother named Rachel, excellently played by Kelly McGillis and her young angelic son Samuel, wonderfully played by Lukas Haas in his impressive film debut, on a trip to the big city they wait for a connecting train to Baltimore at the Philadelphia central station, Samuel witnesses the brutal murder of a undercover narcotics police officer in the men's room of the train station, enter Harrison Ford in a sensational Oscar nominated performance as the hard-boiled detective John Book who has been asigned to investigate the killing he becomes involved with both the case and the boy's mother, but when Book gets wounded in a shootout with one of the crooked cops McFee, chillingly played by Danny Glover who murdered the undercover narcotics police officer, he then realizes that he cannot trust his police department superior Paul Schaeffer, superbly played by character actor Josef Sommer, he whisks Samuel and Rachel away and takes them back to their Amish community in Pennsylvania where he hides out in the child's home for a time, but the crooked cops are hot on his trail and are determined to silence both Book and young Samuel leading to a gripping and suspenseful climactic showdown.
Impeccable supporting performances by Alexander Godunov, Brent Jennings, Patti LuPone, Timothy Carhart, Richard Chaves, and Viggo Mortensen in his film debut. Special kudos must be given to the late Jan Rubes for his terrific and endearing performance as Samuel's beloved grandfather Eli Lapp.
A brilliant literate, balanced script that won Oscars for Earl W. Wallace & William Kelley, a haunting and absolutely stunning score by the Maurice Jarre, beautifully filmed with gorgeous cinematography by John Seale.
Nominated for 8 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director: Peter Weir, Best Actor: Harrison Ford, Best Original Screenplay: Earl W. Wallace, William Kelley & Pamela Wallace, Best Art Direction: Stan Jolley, John H, Anderson, Best Original Score: Maurice Jarre, Best Cinematography: John Seale.
One of the most perceptive motion pictures dealing with the nature of violence in years. Highly Recommended.
This review of Witness (1985) was written by Danny R on 03 Dec 2011.
Witness has generally received very positive reviews.
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