Frady - Mise en Scene Analysis of Witness and Mosquito Coast

In Witness, Samuel Lapp leaves the safe confines of the Amish community for the outside world, where he witnesses (hence the title) a police officer's murder. This event has forever altered the boy, for better or for worse. Because he is exposed to something horrible, something that likely no other Amish has seen (or for that matter, probably not many "English" either), Samuel can no longer be counted among the innocent. In this scene, his grandfather is attempting to impart the wisdom of their people regarding the taking of another person's life (it's not good). The Amish believe that there is no reason good enough to necessitate the taking of a human life. They see this issue strictly in black-and-white terms. Samuel, however, has transcended the need for this particular lesson, as he's already in the realm of shades of gray. He tells his grandfather that he would be willing to take a life of a bad man. When asked how he would distinguish the bad men from the good, Samuel replies that he can tell by their actions. And, seeing as how Samuel already has more experience with bad men doing bad things than his grandfather has, there seems to be little that the patriarch can say to this.

The lighting in this shot comes from behind the grandfather, leaving his face in shadow and illuminating Samuel's. This serves to illustrate Samuel's enlightened state. The dominant in the scene is likewise Samuel's face for the same reason.

In Mosquito Coast, much like Witness, the child surpasses the father in wisdom. Here we see Charlie with his father Allie. They are standing in darkness, Charlie's face lit dimly, yet brighter than Allie's. This is similar to the scene in Witness, but for different reasons. Charlie has always looked up to his father, believing him to be the smartest man in the world, as well as completely infallible. However, we begin to see Charlie doubting Allie's greatness right around the time Allie decides to drop everything and relocate the family to Mosquito Coast. When Doc tells Charlie that his father is a very dangerous man, we can see in Charlie's expression that he may agree with that sentiment. When Allie traps the three interlopers in his ice maker (which is the occasion for this scene), Charlie is definitely having doubts about his father's infallibility (and sanity). We can clearly see that he is frightened of his father, his gaze resting on Allie's extended finger, as if anticipating an eruption of crazy to spring forth.

Whereas in Witness, Samuel gains knowledge from an external source, in Mosquito Coast the knowledge Charlie gains comes from Allie. He sees what has become of his father, and now he knows what he shouldn't do, enabling him to gain autonomy and develop his own identity, separate from Allie.