Witness Script Review

Hello and welcome back.

Today's script review is of Witness, written by Earl W. Wallace, William Kelley and Pamela Wallace.

The story might sound pretty familiar. A young boy witnesses a murder and a police detective protects him and his family until they have to go to trial.

However this is not your typical one. To create conflict the writers had to step away from the typical cop investigative movie. A script where the cops are both the good guys and the bad guys. Cops killed another cop.

Not only that but the witness to the murder, Samuel, is Amish. In their world, violence is not tolerated. Which creates the conflict between the detective, John Book, whose world almost requires violence. So when John Book is injured in a gun fight and he drives Samuel and his mother Rachel back to their Amish community they have to nurse him back to health there.

Neither can truly understand the other's world. John can't comprehend how when her son's life is threatened why she wouldn't fight. Even in a scene where her Amish friends are being accosted by tourists they don't fight back but John pounds the tourists and is restrained by Amish people. Violence is not their way.

As opposed to John where he uses violence as a means to an end.

All in all a good script and a good movie.