New Light.
Harrison Ford wonderfully portrayed
the paper of John Book through sincere responses that he was able to keep
intact throughout the shooting by keeping “his distance from the Amish culture
to enhance his characterization of John Book” (Pfeiffer, 150)At
first glance, John Book is the sort of character that is followed by a long
line of violence inherited from his job as a police officer. Regardless of
whether he is fighting the good fight or the bad fight, violence is part of his
daily routine. So often, that when Rachel and Samuel begin to tag along, the
audience is only aware of the monstrosities that Book goes through because of Rachel’s
and Samuel’s expressions. Book has become so innate to the situation that he is
no longer affected by it and is consequently indifferent. That indifference extends
to his personal life when the audience finds out through Book’s interaction
with his sister that he has conservative values. Book disapproves of his sister
having men sleep over while her children are there but at the same time Rachel points
out to Book that he has been so caught up with being a good cop that he has
lost sight of the simple pleasures of life such as having a family. Book has
only one goal in mind, caching the bad guys. Thus when it turns out that the
bad guys are within his ranks, Book kind of loses sight of his objective.
The time with the Amish reinforces his main
goal of out ruling corruption. Book enters the Amish world as physically and
mentally crippled from the sudden realization that he has been living under
false pretenses. The first interactions between both parties begin awkwardly as
neither party sees benefit in the stay of Book. Both assume that Book would
only stay temporarily and life as they know would return to normal. To
everybody’s dismay, Book stays to learn the value of community.
The contrast between both worlds is
visually apparent. Book’s world is closely knit but humanly distanced while the
Amish are a mirror opposite with physically distanced but humanly close. This juxtaposition
allows Book to realize that appearing to be a community by living in the city
where everything is close by does not guarantee that people are part of a
community. The Amish on the other hand realize the importance of getting to
know their neighbors while allowing for personal space. Book’s time with the
Amish allows him to appreciate the sense of community more in a way that was
not possible in his isolated city life.
At the end of the movie, book has
learned to let loose on his conservative values after deeply falling for Rachel
who was previously married. His sense of community is strengthen when the
entire town shows up to help Book shake the bad cops off and more importantly
he realizes that he has a bigger meaning in life. Book understands that he has
the responsibility of being the right hand of justice. Even with all the
transformations, Book remains true to his violent ways. Despite having been
exposed to the Amish gentle ways Book cannot let go of his old ways. This sort
of “old habits die hard” dilemma, remind the audience that Book is human and no
human is perfect.
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