How suspense is developed in the murder scene of "Wtiness" By Peter Weir

Essay by davidwwood May 2006

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Murder Scene

Samuel and his widowed mother Rachel are at a train station trying to get a train to Baltimore to see Rachel's sister. At the ticket sellers booth they are told the train is going to be delayed three hours and are told to move away and sit down. When they are waiting for the train Samuel asks if he can go to the toilet, so he does. Before they left, Daniel, Rachel's would be boyfriend remarks with heavy dramatic irony "You will see so many things".

Suspense is used to show the audience that either there hopes will come true and be happy or the danger hits whereby the audience will feel sorrowful. Suspense is used throughout this entire scene and is evident in many forms from the various camera shots and angles to the music and colours on screen. We as the audience recognise that this suspense is for a reason and we know that the major part of the plot is about to be told.

Samuel casually walks into the toilet to find an edgy man washing his hands and through a point of view shot we see this man look up and smile at Samuel. The cold colours of the room and its eerie silence isolate the man. Samuel walks as close to the cubicles as he can to stay away from the man at the sink. Samuel walks into a cubicle and we see him in a close-up turn around and through a crack in the door he has another look at the man at the sink.

In shot number five we are looking at the man washing his face we see him from the perspective of Samuel. In the same shot we see a man walk between the camera and the guy washing...