Night of the hunter

Night of the hunter was an interesting film especially since I kinda dislike black and white films. Taking out the colour takes out some of the charm of films and removes a whole dimension. However it does make strong the contrast that its given. Many of the scenes at night  are lit well showing only the characters lit compared to the rest of the scene. The first scene that shows this is the Reverends shadow appearing on the wall of John and Pearl's bedroom. A towering shadow that enveloped most of the light in the room showed him in an ominous light. Looking out of the window showed the Reverend standing by a street lamp looking at the house, singing one of his hymns, as if to decieve that he was still a holy man.

The film opens with a brief message of about trust. Not everyone is trustworthy and this of course leads to the reverend. Just because he seems believable doesn't mean he is. 

Ben harper, a minor character, runs back to his house and tells his son John about the money he has just stolen. He's hidden it inside of his sister's, Pearl's, doll.  John isn't able to tell anyone under any circumstances until he comes back. This of course startsa thrilling film of cat and mouse for the greedy reverend to get his hands on the money.

The reverend has the words Love and hate tattooed on his knuckles. He uses these as a way of winning people over and misleading people into thinking hes a good man. His tale says that man is strong and the hate grows but eventually love wins overall. For impressing some of the townspeople he is invited to the town picnic. A few days later at the town picnic he get John aside and interrogates him. He repeats this later on after he marries their mother as an excuse to getting closer to the money. 

Of course it would be very hard to forget the strangest scene in the film when the river water is as clear as a glass of the liquid. John and his friend Birdie can perfecty see his dead mother sitting at the bottom of the river in a car. Just why is the water so clear? Water is never as crisp and clear as that. Hilariously stupid mistake really.

Not wanting to live the rest of his life being in fear of the reverend, he takes Pearl into his repaired river boat and goes downriver, even sleeping on the boat as night falls.  They spent the rest of that night in a barn hiding from the Reverend who rides in front of a magnified moon on a horse. His black shadow creating the perfect threat merely 100 yards away.  The next day, they come into contact with Rachel Cooper who looks after a few other abandoned children.  She takes John and Pearl under her wing only if they work on the farm for their keep. John reveals the tales and Rachel promises to protect them if the Reverend comes near.

That night he does and Rachel upholds her promise, guarding the front porch with her shotgun. The two of them sing the hymn that the Reverend has sung throughout the film. Its as though this song is their fighting, both of them singing to show how determined they both are to win. The lone candle that lights up Rachel goes out and the Reverend makes his move into the house to get a hold of John and the doll once and for all. 

At the end of the film, the Reverend is arrested and the scene plays out exactly the same as when Johns father was arrested. The police wrestle the adult to the ground, John shouts "Don't..don't" and collapses onto the ground in tears. This shows us that even though the reverend is a terrible person, John things of him like his father or at least somebody that he cares about so much he doesnt want to see them in prison. Later shown by John not pointing out the Reverend in court, letting him run free.

The film ends with it being Christmas at Rachel Coopers. It is like the light at the end of the dark tunnel that was his journey. And with the money no longer in his possession, the "Reverend" can no longer bother him.