Witness

The 1985 film, Witness, which was directed by Peter Weir and which starred Harrison Ford,  Kelly McGillis and Danny Glover, won two Academy Awards: Best Original Screenplay and Best Film Editing.  It was also nominated for six other Academy Awards including Best Picture (won by Out of Africa), Best Director (won by Sydney Pollack for Out of Africa), and Best Actor (Ford lost to William Hurt in Kiss of the Spider Woman). 

Witness is the story of a Philadelphia Police Detective, John Book (Ford), who is assigned to investigate the murder of an undercover police officer at its 30th Street (train) Station, a place I personally knew well as it is nearby the campus of the University of Pennsylvania.  The only witness to the murder is an eight year-old Amish boy, Samuel, who was there on a stopover while travelling with his young, widowed mother, Rachel (McGillis).  Later, Samuel sees a photo and tells Book that a fellow Philadelphia Police Detective, McFee (Glover), was one of the murderers.  Later, McFee tries to silence Book in an ambush in a parking garage.  Book escapes, but is badly wounded.  He then flees in a borrowed car with Rachel and Samuel, returning them safely to their Amish community.  Rachel and her father-in-law slowly nurse Book back to health, despite their Amish displeasure at having a man with a gun in their home.  As he recovers, Book and Rachel develop a romantic relationship.

Witness reminds me of John Wayne’s 1947 western film, Angel and the Bad Man, which also starred Gail Russell.  It is the story of a notorious gunman, Quirt Evans (Wayne), who, while injured after an altercation with a rival’s gang, attempts to flee but collapses while crossing a Quaker farm on horseback.  The farming family, despite their Quaker objections to having a man with a gun in their home, plus a local doctor, nurse Quirt back to health.  As he recovers, Quirt and Penelope (Russell), the family's daughter, develop a romantic relationship.  Sound familiar?

After a final confrontation in which the bad guys are killed and/or captured, Book and Rachel realize that their relationship, while passionate, has no where to go since they are from two different worlds.  He returns alone to Philadelphia.  On the other hand, in a similar confrontation in which the bad guys are killed by a lawman, Quirt (who gives up his gun) and Penelope go off together ostensibly to live the peaceful life of Quaker farmers.  Perhaps that was too unrealistic an ending for a 1985 movie audience.  However, it worked in 1947.  Or maybe we are simply seeing a different perspective on romance, one with a happy ending, the other one sad.