Witness 'murder scene' analysis- unfinished

Witness is a drama/romance/thriller released in 1985, directed by Peter Weir starring Harrison Ford, Kelly McGillis and Lukas Haas. It had a budget of $12 000 000 and made $4 539 990 in the opening weekend. Witness is about a young Amish boy who witnesses a murder in the toilets of a city train station (Philadelphia).

The clip starts with a medium shot of the boy, it is slightly low angle which shows his significance within the mise-en-scene, his face is framed with a large hat which signifies his Amish heritage- this could represent his innocence as it resembles a halo. His costume is monochrome and the colours blue and black are usually associated with pain and bruising, this could suggest there is going to be violence within the film and some of which could be directed at him. The expression on the child’s face shows that whatever he is looking at is completely new to him and he is not used to being exposed to objects like that, it shows him completely awestruck but slightly nervous. The colours in the scene are dull and the background of the shot is blurred which could suggest that the boy is from a very sheltered background and is finding it difficult to take in his surroundings.

The next shot is a low angle medium close up of an angel statue; this could be classed as a POV shot from the boy as it looks very intimidating and powerful, especially as the boy is so small in proportion to the statue. The angel statue is holding a wounded person in its arms which shows that the statue is a kind of guardian; this would truly astound the boy as he would not get to see art work like this in his community so he may think of the statue as his guardian angel. The symbol of the halo (the boy’s hat) is shown again in the next shot which is confirming that the angel is going to ‘watch over him’, in other word it is implied that he will need help in the near future. The non-diagetic sound is also adding to the feeling of astonishment and admiration.

The cutting to and from the boy to the statue personifies the statue as it seems like the boy is waiting for a reaction from it. The boy seems to feel a true connection with the statue and this is also shown through the camera movement, the shots remind me of shot-reverse-shot which is usually used between people during a conversation- this is why the statue can seem to be personified.

This cuts to an over the shoulder, high angle shot of the boy, interestingly it is over the statues shoulder which could show that the statue is watching over him like a guardian angel. This shot shows the boys insignificance as in proportion to his surroundings he seems extremely small, this is also shown by people pushing into him as they pass, as if he is invisible and no one notices him. This also foreshadows the events which happen in the toilet. From this angle the audience can see how different and out of place the boy looks compared to everyone else which shows that he is clearly not comfortable with his surroundings. The boy’s mother then comes into shot and looks worried, she hurries him away but as they are walking, the boy turns back to glance at the statue which shows he feels slightly attached to it.

This cuts to a long, slightly low angle shot of the mother and the boy, there is an amazing vanishing point in the shot which connotes danger around the corner, this feeling of danger is accentuated when the boy walks into the vanishing point to use the toilet.  

This cuts to a medium, slightly low shot of a man standing in a toilet, he turns, nods and smiles towards the boy confirming that he has just entered the room.

This cuts to a slightly high angle shot of the little boy as he looks at the man and smiles; this indicates his innocence and naivety. As the boy starts walking towards the camera, he disappears out of the shot making the audience momentarily nervous. The mise-en-scene is filmed in a grimy public toilet which has a very good vanishing point which could hint at the action about to happen. Once again a slightly low/long shot has been used to show the size of the room, this is important as it is a very isolated place which is a classic thriller convention.

This cuts to a medium, slightly low shot of a man standing in a toilet, he turns, nods and smiles towards the boy confirming that he has just entered the room.

This cuts to a slightly high angle shot of the little boy as he looks at the man and smiles; this indicates his innocence and naivety. As the boy starts walking towards the camera, he disappears out of the shot making the audience momentarily nervous. The mise-en-scene is filmed in a grimy public toilet which has a very good vanishing point which could hint at the action about to happen. Once again a slightly low/long shot has been used to show the size of the room, this is important as it is a very isolated place which is a classic thriller convention.