Author(s): Chris Moffitt (NC)
The Witch
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan
Written by M. Night Shyamalan
Produced by Sam Mercer, Scott Rudin and M. Night Shyamalan
Music by James Newton Howard
Edited by Andrew Mondshein
Main Cast:
Rose- Elle Fanning
John Browning- Christopher Plummer
Matthew Browning- Joaquin Pheonix
Elizabeth Browning- Toni Collette
Isabella Clode- Bryce Dallas Howard
Robert Felix- Paul Giamatti
Tagline: “Salem, 1692. A time of great fear.”
Synopsis: A woman is being burned in the town square. She is screaming and cursing at all who stand around her. The townspeople are watching intently as the woman is punished. The vision ends with the gaze of a shadowy blue-eyed girl and Alice awakes.
Alice Browning is a lonely girl who does not have many friends. She lives in Salem Town, a suburb of Salem. It is the fall of 1692 and the witch trials have moved to the small town. One day after school, Alice is approached by a new student. The student is a blonde-haired, fair skinned young girl around the same age as Alice. Alice is thrilled to have a new friend and begins to strike up a conversation with the girl. She says that her name is Rose and she just recently moved to Salem Town. Alice asks Rose if she wants to go for a walk in the woods in order to pick flowers but Rose declines she says that she has to go but that she would love to play with Alice tomorrow. Alice agrees to meet Rose the next day after school and leaves to return home.
Rose is in Alice’s mind for the rest of the night even as she is eating dinner with her family however she stops thinking about her long enough to hear her father and grandfather talking. Her father Matthew Browning is the town’s preacher and her grandfather John Browning is the town’s magistrate. The two are discussing the fact that executing the last witch in such a gruesome fashion may have discouraged any other women from practicing witchcraft. Alice asks her father and grandfather what they did to the last witch. While her mother Elizabeth tries to stop Alice’s question, her grandfather decides to answer his granddaughter anyway.
He tells Alice that the last witch was named Isabella Clode. She was accused by Robert Felix of using her specter to seduce him into making love. He told Matthew that this happened many times over the last few months. Matthew believed Robert’s story and quickly accused Isabella leading to her arrest. She was then indicted by John. After she was convicted, Isabella demanded her release or all who wronged her would pay for taking her life. The people were unphased by her remarks and Isabella was burned instead of hanged in order to further punish the obvious witch.
Her grandfather leaves and later that night, Alice has another dream. She again sees the witch burning in the town center and recognizes her father and grandfather watching pleasingly from the side. She also sees another man who she identifies as Robert Felix. He is throwing wood towards the fire and yelling, “Go to hell” to the burning woman. The dream ends with vision of the blue eyes again and Alice awakes again terrified.
Alice goes to school the next day and again sees Rose. After school ends, the two walk into the woods near the schoolhouse and begin to talk. Rose says that her family came to Salem Town a few months ago but her family has had a hard time establishing themselves here. She says that she lives with her father because her mother had to return to Pennsylvania but she hopes that her mother will return soon. Alice then invites Rose to come to her house for dinner but Rose says she cannot come because she has to do something from her father. However, she agrees to come to Alice’s house tomorrow after school.
Alice is so excited that she has finally found a friend. She tells her mother that she is bringing her friend Rose to the house tomorrow for dinner. Her mother says that it is alright and Alice is so excited that she can hardly eat that night. Her grandfather comes to dinner again and her father and grandfather begin to discuss the town. They say that there have been two new accusations of witchcraft in the town today from Robert Felix. He accused two more local women. Matthew does not believe the accusations but John disagrees and says he wants to indict the women. As the family is finishing dinner, they hear a loud noise coming from outside. They go outside and see that one of the houses in the town is burning. It is Robert Felix’s home and he is trapped inside. The townspeople rush to try and put the fire out but their effort is futile. The fire burns the house to the ground and Robert is killed.
While Alice is shocked by what happened she still goes to school and is excited because she is inviting her new friend over to her house. School end and Alice quickly runs to the spot where she and Rose have met the last two days. Rose is already there and the two of them begin walking to Alice’s house. The two reach Alice’s house and Alice’s father and grandfather are already there. Alice enters and immediately begins to tell her family about her new friend however no one is listening to her. They are all staring at the doorway. Alice turns around and sees that Rose’s appearance has changed. Her face is darker and her hair is moving wildly in the air. Alice realizes that the eyes from her dream are Rose’s eyes. The doors and all the windows shut and lock. Rose then speaks to the family. She says that her mother was Isabella Clode and her father was Robert Felix. When her mother gave birth to her, Robert was angered and accused her of being a witch. She says that she has returned to avenge her mother. She has taken care of the first person who wronged her mother and now it is time to take care of the others who wronged her mother. Rose then vanishes and the house bursts into flames.
What the Press Would Say:
The Witch is a spooky and tense drama that is the perfect comeback for filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan. Here he writes a supernatural story that is intense and in some parts scary. His script works perfectly with the wonderful performances. Abigail Breslin delivers a wonderful performance as a lonely and naïve girl. She is believable in every scene that she is in. Christopher Plummer is wonderful as the crass and domineering magistrate. However, Elle Fanning is definitely the star. Her performance is haunting and extremely memorable. Shyamalan knows how to bring out great performances in child actors and just like Haley Joel Osment in The Sixth Sense, Fanning delivers a brilliant and spine-tingling performance. The film is a stunning visual masterpiece as Shyamalan and his crew create a beautiful recreation of 1690s Salem. The costumes and the art direction is perfectly combined with gorgeous cinematography and a haunting score from James Newton Howard. It’s been a while since a smart, sophisticated, supernatural film was nominated for multiple Oscars but The Witch could be just the movie to snap the drought.
For Your Consideration:
Best Picture
Best Director- M. Night Shyamalan
Best Actress- Abigail Breslin
Best Supporting Actress- Elle Fanning
Best Supporting Actor- Christopher Plummer
Best Original Screenplay- M. Night Shyamalan
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