The opening of Witness

Witness (1985)

Directed by: Peter Weir

Plot

A young Amish boy is sole witness to a murder; policeman John Book goes into hiding in Amish country to protect him until the trial. (IMDB)

7.5

Ratings: 7.5/10 from 43,146 users   Metascore: 76/100 

Reviews: 141 user | 66 critic | 14 from Metacritic.com

Straight away the audience sense that Samuel represents his calm and peaceful community he is leaving behind, and, like his community, he is hidden from the development of the world, resulting in him being unaware of simple things such as water fountains, to scary, deadly objects, such as guns and knives.

Location

Throughout the opening the audience can notice that each space Samuel and his mother enter are claustrophobic spaces, for example, the train has no escape, and the toilet block the child is in has only one escape, which will expose him to the murders leaving them to know he had witnessed the attack. Also the use of a toilet block establishes the fact that this city is dirty, un-glamorous, smelly and corrupt and it emphasis's how out of place Samuel and his mother are.

Camera Angles 

At the beginning of the film when Samuel and his mother board the train, there is a low angle shot of the train leaving the station, this suggests to the audience that the train is; big, powerful, threatening and it is leading them to a deadly place, it could be seen as a "ghost train". 

Inter textual link: Although Anna Karenina is not a thriller film, I noticed that there was an inter textual link between the train in Witness to the train in Anna Karenina; Like the train in Witness, the train in Anna Karenina is shot in a low angle and is presented as menacing and deadly. This makes quite a big link with Witness, because at the end of Anna Karenina, Anna in fact kills herself by the train. This suggests that trains could be transporting someone to danger or even their death. This is shown well through Anna Karenina and Witness. 

Once entering the train station, Samuel goes for a walk by himself, (a normal child who has been around the danger of city life, would probably not choose to do this). However he comes across a statue that he is mesmerized by; the low angle shot of the statue, emphasis's' how large and overpowering it is for Samuel, Amish people are not used to such amazing works of art, as they live in a basic environment, which means when entering an unknown place Samuel is fascinated and overwhelmed.

The next shot is an over the shoulder/high angle shot; this explores the idea that Samuel is an insignificant child in a big city. The fact that there is shot from the statues point of view suggests that the statue is seen as a guardian angel towards Samuel. Also there could be a small religious aspect to it, which could be linked with the way Samuel stands during the murder scene. 

When Samuel leaves his mother to go to the toilet, he slowly disappears showing a vanishing point in the shot.  This is effective because it represents Samuel entering another world, a world that he has never witnessed before, a place of danger and trauma, once entering this place, he may never see the world the same again. You also notice that there are not many people in the shot, which suggests to the audience that it is a perfect chance to commit a crime, as there is much more chance of getting away with it. 

There is an inter textual link with this shot, as it is also seen in Essex Boys but in a different way. A gain once entering the tunnel there is only one way out, which is the same with Samuel in the toilet. Also it suggests that the car is entering danger and fear of what is to come. Samuel and the car in Essex boys are both entering a different dimension. 

Murder scene

Sound 

Diagetic raw sound: Foot steps and running water, for the audience it brings a suspense effect but through a natural way, which can make it seem more frightening, as the sound is real. For example when one of the murderers is kicking open the doors, the sound of the doors banging open ads much more suspense for the audience. Will he find Samuel? What will he do to Samuel when he finds him? Will he shoot him?

Camera Shots

The use of quick close ups adds to the suspense of the film, and makes the audience feel as if they are there, and it also adds to the action, through the fact that it is intense. As the close ups only reveal part of the action each time, it encourages the suspense, because the audience do not know what is going to happen next. A thriller usually always consists of a murder weapon, this weapon is normally a gun, and however Weir has challenged generic conventions and has used a flick knife. This is a small weapon, which could seem powerless and less threatening, however, the way Weir has shot the 'flick' as the knife goes up, and cutting of the mans throat, draws the audience in and makes the knife more menacing, and lets the audience know that these two men have the power to do anything.

The extreme close up of Samuels' eye establishes to the audience that he is witnessing this murder, hence the naming of the film = Witness. He is completely hooked in by what is going on, being an Amish child, he has never witnessed such brutality before. He does not know what to do other then watch and keep quiet. This is building a relationship through the audience and Samuel, they begin to feel sorry for him and want to help, but cannot.

The next shot puts the audience completely in Samuels shoes; they are shown exactly what Samuel is witnessing, Weir has gone into so much detail, by including the unfocused door Samuel is looking through. This shot completely engages the audience; they are part of the film. The fact that the door is between Samuel and the men, could symbolise the difference of worlds, Samuel safe in his Amish community and the two men deadly in this new world. The fact that Samuel is looking through a hole in the door, symbolises that he is getting a glimpse of the world; him and his mother have now entered.