'Witness' was Harrison Ford's first starring mainstream hit drama, after the Star Wars trilogy, two Indiana Jones flicks, and of course 'Blade Runner.' It showed he could carry a conventional story, in this case a cop thriller in an unusual setting, outside the sci-fi/action genres and launched a movie career that by some accounts is the most successful ever. Samuel Lapp (Lucas Haas), a young Amish boy, is on a rare trip to the big city (Philadelphia) with his mother Rachel (Kelly McGillis). There he is the sole witness to a brutal murder and both he and Rachel are detained by police officer John Book (Ford) for questioning. This leads Book to uncover massive corruption in the police department and he himself is almost killed for discovering it, which leads the three of them back to the Amish community where Book hides out while recovering from his gunshot wound and trying to figure out what to do next. Beyond the inspired novelty of having a crime thriller largely set among the Pennsylvania Amish, 'Witness' is memorable for several noteworthy performances. Lucas Haas, like Heather O'Rourke in 'Poltergeist', is one of those child actors who is almost too endearing for words, not only angel-faced but a natural and believable performer. As Rachel, Kelly McGillis has one of her best roles and gives it a multi-layered interpretation. One can sense just below the surface a resentment in her at her lot in life as an Amish woman. Rachel dutifully goes through the motions required by her position but it is obvious she is forever wondering what it would be like to live in the outside world. Or, in Book's case, to bring him in to live in hers. And Harrison Ford gives another of those performances where you wonder where the actor ends and the character begins. Book and Rachel build up a subtle rapport, where thoughts and feelings are simply understood rather than openly expressed. They even manage a low-key teasing kind of back-and-forth, not easy when they are under the constant scrutiny of the town elders and in fact, just about all of the other Amish. 'Witness' provides a glimpse into Amish society that seems genuine and well-detailed. They are portrayed as industrious, self-sacrificing, extreme pacifists who live apart from the outside world, the world of the 'English,' as they call everyone else, regardless of background. Along with these admirable qualities, it is also suggested that they can be small-minded, gossipy, and somewhat smug and defensive about their beliefs and way of life. When one considers the cloistered, confined life they lead, this shouldn't be surprising; one might compare the Amish village to any small American town where everyone knows everyone else and people are forever talking behind each other's back. An interesting subplot in all this is how the Amish's pacifism comes into play when faced with violence. It is obviously a deeply-held belief that some will find admirable and others unfathomable. At one point, Samuel's grandfather attempts to explain to him why they feel the way they do, using Book's gun as a reference, since it epitomizes the evil of taking another's life. The grandfather asks Samuel if he would kill anyone, and the boy responds, "I would only kill the bad man." Then the old man asks how Samuel can know who is bad and who isn't. The boy responds, "I can see what they do. I have seen it." So the question that hangs in the air is, does Samuel become corrupted from what he's seen, or has he simply been exposed to the real world and become better able to deal with it, even at his young age? It is a question that 'Witness' doesn't attempt to resolve, and in this case, the ambiguity adds depth to a very thoughtful and satisfying movie.
Review of Witness
