Harrison Ford’s Best Movie Performance Isn't What You Think

What Witness Does Better Than Harrison Ford's Other Films

The fascinating thing about Witness is that even though Book is a detective, the mystery is solved in the first 30 minutes. The rest of the runtime is spent with him hiding from his pursuers and warming to the Amish lifestyle - to Rachel - with Weir restricting the pace to a slow, soulful tempo. Cinematographer John Seale makes excellent use of steadicam throughout the film, emphasising the tranquility of the Pennsylvania countryside, as well as the smouldering embers of Book and Rachel's ultimately doomed romance.

And romance is where Witness excels best. McGillis and Ford's chemistry here is off-the-charts good, and there's a burgeoning sexual tension Weir takes appropriate time to linger on. When they're not giggling together and having fun, Book and Rachel are always exchanging glances, their eyes intimating an anguished frustration of a love they aren't able to act on.

This isn't necessarily sad though. Through Witness, Weir emphasises the beauty of a fleeting connection, which explodes in a breathtaking sequence where Book and Rachel surrender and embrace. Their paths may ultimately diverge, but the raw, shared passion of that romance makes Witness' bittersweet in the best way possible. Rachel and Book go their separate ways, but that doesn't make what they had any less enrapturing.