Blog Directory CineVerse: Order in the court

Order in the court

Friday, November 9, 2012

CineVerse took a trip to court on Wednesday and enjoyed "Witness for the Prosecuction," Billy Wilder's well-crafted take on the Agatha Christie tale. Before you reach your verdict on this flick, here are the closing arguments, as discussed by our group:

WHAT IMPRESSED YOU ABOUT THIS ADAPTATION OF AGATHA CHRISTIE’S WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION?
·       It’s not easy to adapt the intricate structures, characters, plot turns and puzzles of Christie for the screen: the filmmakers have to know what to cut and what to emphasize
·       Director Billy Wilder took what is essentially a stagebound play confined primarily to a boring courtroom setting and made it cinematic, interesting and cynically humorous
o   How? By choosing to insert flashbacks
o   By making Sir Wilifrid, originally just a supporting charcter in the play, into the picture’s male lead
o   By throwing in a subplot about Sir Wilifrid’s need for regular medical care, which builds suspense about whether he can endure the rigorous trial in his condition
o   By introducing the character of Nurse Plimsoll and her nagging skirmishes with Sir Wilifrid for comic relief; also, by casting Charles Laughton’s real life wife, Elsa Lanchester, in this role, which capitalizes on ideal chemistry between the two
o   By employing fluid, kinetic camera movements
o   By casting big name, talented actors for the main parts who could employ effective facial gestures and subtle expressions for dramatic effect

WILIFRID’S MONOCLE IS USED AS AN EFFECTIVE SYMBOLIC DEVICE IN THE FILM. WHAT DOES IT REPRESENT, AND CAN YOU CITE EXAMPLES OF HOW IT IS USED WELL?
·       It is used as an idiosyncratic prop that adds detail and dimension to the character
·       It also symbolizes the peering eye of investigation and, when it glints with light, the blinding light of truth and justice

WILDER GOES FOR SHOCK AND SURPRISE AT THE END, WHILE HITCHCOCK BELIEVED IN BUILDING SUSPENSE BY REVEALING KEY DETAILS ABOUT A CHARACTER EARLY ON. WOULD THIS FILM HAVE BEEN LESS EFFECTIVE AND ENJOYABLE IF THE STORY HAD REVEALED SOME OF ITS SURPRISES EARLIER ON?
·       Hitchcock was a proponent of building suspense: His theory was that if the audience knows that a bomb is under the table and the characters sitting there don’t know it, there is a greater thrill for the viewer than if the bomb suddenly goes off without our expectation of it, which evokes shock and surprise instead of suspense.
·       Arguably, because this is a courtroom drama and an Agatha Christie story, audiences probably expect more of a surprise and plot twist at the end that they didn’t see coming. Such is the nature of dramatic court cases, where surprise witnesses can suddenly be called or last-minute evidence is introduced that blows the trial wide open.
·       You can make the case that Wilder did employ enough suspense by creating doubt around the motives of the characters and worry about Wilifred’s health.

ARE THERE ANY OTHER MOVIES THIS FILM BRINGS TO MIND?
·       A Foreign Affair, another Wilder-Dietrich collaboration where the female lead character is similar
·       Hitchcock’s The Paradine Case

OTHER FILMS BY BILLY WILDER
·       Double Indemnity
·       The Lost Weekend
·       Sunset Boulevard
·       Ace in the Hole
·       Stalag 17
·       Sabrina
·       The Seven Year Itch
·       The Spirit of St. Louis
·       Some Like it Hot
·       The Apartment

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