Witness!

directed by Peter Wier.

Murder scene analysis

Throughout this scene the pure simplicity of the shots adds to the tension and suspense of the scene beautifully. The first shot is a low angle shot of a statue, this helps show the Amish child’s fascination and wonder over the abstract city life. The camera then cuts to a low angle close up on the child to show his reaction to the statue. The non-diegetic music helps build a sense of amazement. The next shot is of a high angle establishing shot; this was done to show the child’s insignificance and vulnerability in the big city.

The next shot is a medium shot of the station, but the only people around is the Amish child and mother. This shot is very effective in showing the family’s isolation in modern society, but also creates a dark mood. The child then enters the toilet. A medium shot helps establish the grim nature of the toilets with the dim ambient lighting which helps create subdued tension but also it helps the audience feel as if they are actually in the toilet. It then cuts to a close up on a male in a leather jacket. There is no non diegetic sound, which signifies to the audience that something bad will happen. The close up on the man helps show his emotion and when the diegetic sound of someone entering the toilet it heard an enigma is made for the entering characters. This scene is shot beautifully because you rarely see the murderers face which helps the audience build their own idea of the villain. This is a common tool used in thriller films and is very effective in creating uncertainty within the audience. A sudden close up on a black male nodding signifies that something bad will happen, many people believe this scene was done to show the stereotype of American culture and the black society. Also Peter Weir used the Amish boy to show the innocence of religious people in rough ever-changing America.

An extreme close up on a knife triggers the non-diegetic music, which is cleverly used because the pace of the music and uneasiness of the scene works together amazingly. The camera then cuts to the Amish child’s point of view and helps show the murder from a small child’s perspective. The shot reverse shot from the murder to the child is very successful, as the child scrambles to lock the toilet door as a viewer your heart sinks and you feel on edge. Peter Weir uses such a simple concept with such simple camera angles to create such tension and anxiety. The camera then cuts to the black male struggling to open the door, the child suddenly leaps under the toilet wall and into the other cubicle. The next shot is a low angled close up on the black male’s face, in astonishment that no one is there. The next shot is of the small boy standing on the toilet with his hands spread out; this may have been done to make a connection to Jesus on the cross, such an innocent person up for sacrifice. In this shot there is no music and it gives a sense of the calm after the storm and the close up on the child’s face helps signify his terror trying to absorb what he just witnessed.