Conventions of the Thriller in 'Witness'

Directed by peter Weir in 1985, Witness is a modern thriller telling the story of an Amish boy (a young Lukas Haas as Samuel) who witnesses a murder. Harrison Ford plays John Book, the cop tasked with protecting Samuel until the trial, who must swiftly go into hiding in the Amish community; else he and Samuel could meet the same fate at the hands of the corrupt figureheads of the police force who committed the crime. The film is revered as one of Ford’s best performances, and is a notable part of the Thriller genre. The film went on to win the Oscar for best editing and best writing.

The particular scene analysed in class was that of the murder witnessed by Samuel, committed by Danny Glover’s character James McFee. It contains many generic conventions of the Thriller.

First of all, the scene in question takes place at 30^th street station, Philadelphia, an iconic symbol of the bustling city life and a setting used in many other movies. A man in the bustling crowd exposes a tattoo on his hand, connoting a form of hidden corruption in the city amongst the high rise buildings and hordes of passersby. Samuel approaches a Jewish man believing that he is Amish, and backs up in disdain when he realises he is mistaken. The multiculturalism of the city is happily present, and the crowded city is a prime setting for s Thriller. When Samuel enters the lavatories, you see another convention of Thriller setting; the seedy nooks and crannies of the city. The toilets are ran down and vandalised, and not a very comfortable place to be in. Suspicious characters line the walls, ready to attack unsuspecting victims and provoke a sense of shock from the audience. When Samuel enters the toilet cubicle, the completely generic presence of claustrophobic spaces arises. All of these factors begin to build tension, until the murder is committed. Thrillers are typically littered with excessive yet believable acts of violence, this scene included. The culprits are also members of the police, as Thrillers tend to contain seemingly innocent villains. As McFee opens the cubicles, we fear for Samuel’s life, the cinematography highlighting his fearful gaze. Another generic point, the hero is presented with impending pain or death, yet manages to escape narrowly at the last minute.