Review: The Crucible

Inspired by the Salem Witch trials of 1692 Massachusetts, teenaged Abigail Williams (Winona Ryder) and several other young girls are spied dancing nekkid in the woods by Rev. Parris (a rock-solid Bruce Davison). Scared of the consequences in this time and place of bible-thumping and harsh punishment for anything perceived to be ‘witchcraft’ (a crime punishable by death), one of the girls seems to have worried herself into a coma-like state, whilst the other girls (headed by Abigail) put all the blame on black Jamaican slave Tituba, who presided over the whole thing. They claim Tituba forced them into participating in the sacrificial ceremony (a ceremony, which, in all fairness was quite childish, harmless, and not really witchcraft), whilst an expert on witchcraft, Rev. Hale (Rob Campbell) is brought into town to investigate matters. It’s not long before the girls, the deceitful and vengeful Abigail in particular are throwing others to the wolves with (false) accusations of being in Satan’s service. Abigail, you see, has designs on John Proctor (Daniel Day-Lewis), whom she has been infatuated with since being in his employ and under his roof. When Proctor’s wife Elizabeth (Joan Allen) had suspicions of an affair between the two, she had Abigail cast out of the household. Abigail sees this latest hysteria as the perfect opportunity for revenge against Elizabeth, as she too is accused of being a tool of the Devil. Basically, Abigail is a living embodiment of that old saying about a woman scorned. Paul Scofield plays Judge Danforth, the stern authoritarian who is determined to find Satanists and bring them to their due punishment (Whilst the younger Rev. Hale starts to wake up to the possibility that the investigation might be corrupted by unreliable testimony). Jeffrey Jones, Peter Vaughan, and Frances Conroy play other townsfolk and elders, whilst George Gaynes is one of Scofield’s fellow judges.

 

Scripted by playwright Arthur Miller (“Death of a Salesman”) himself, this 1996 film version of his play from director Nicholas Hytner (“The Madness of King George”, “The Object of My Affection”) is pretty strong stuff and features several good performances in a mostly excellent cast. Among the best, a perfectly cast Daniel Day-Lewis (a truly persuasive actor who is both stirring and stoic here), authoritative Paul Scofield (in his last role), and a crazy-eyed, horny Winona Ryder (one of her best-ever performances) are especially strong here, though Rob Campbell is completely one-note as Rev. Hale. It’s clear that he’s a stage actor, and like Rebecca Pidgeon, for instance (a terrible actress thankfully not present here), he hasn’t worked out that the two mediums require a somewhat different approach, even if you’re working from a script based on a stage play. He’s actually quite annoying, if a lot less mannered than say Pidgeon.

 

I got a little lost from time to time, especially with so many Goodies and seemingly no Baddies around. I swear, one of the characters is named Goodie Good. It’s true, look it up. I mean, where were Goodie Goodie Gumdrop and Goodie Goodie Yum-Yum then? All kidding aside, this is still an extremely relevant story, perhaps even more relevant today. Lies, accusations, fundamentally religious superstitions, and witch hunts aren’t just confined to the Salem Witch Trials nor the McCarthy hearings Miller was initially inspired by, and it’s really scary when all this can happen due to some very silly jealousy, revenge, spitefulness, superstition, ignorance, and the ever helpful scapegoat. Don’t think for a second that it couldn’t happen in some form or another today. That’ll be your first mistake.

 

A really underrated and frankly disturbing film (from a very important text), though anyone not familiar with Miller’s version of period language might have to pay especially close attention. Like any good version of Shakespeare, however, if the acting is up to snuff, you’ll get the sense of it at least. I don’t normally go for this kind of “Dr Quinn’s Little House on the Prairie” thing normally, but this is darker and more thematically interesting and a lot less hokey or twee than you might expect.

 

Fun Fact: Daniel Day-Lewis actually met his future wife here, she being Rebecca Miller, daughter of Arthur.

 

Rating: B-