Americas 250th Birthday Cinemathon #3: The Crucible

 

The Crucible is an adaptation of American playwright Arthur Miller’s work of the same name. The plot focuses on the hysteria and questionable trials surrounding the witch scare in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692. Arthur Miller used the historical event as an allegory for McCarthyism in the 1950s, with falsely accused witches representing the falsely accused Communists (as it turns out, intercepted Soviet correspondence and the opening of more material in Russian archives has proved that most of these people were indeed Communists or in league with them, but that’s not the focus on this review).

Arthur Miller actually wrote the adapted screenplay, making some changes here and there (whether of his own accord or the director's I don't know). Of course, the movie allows the actual recreation of the old Puritan town of Salem, though this is still very much an actor-driven dialogue affair. The movie starts Reverend Samuel Parris (Bruce Davison) coming upon his niece Abigail Williams (Wynona Ryder) and the other town girls performing an African ritual with the help of slave woman Tituba. Desperate not to be convicted of witchcraft, Abigail (with a lot of help from the other girls) desperately put all the blame on Tituba, then start accusing other citizens, mostly older women, of having interactions with the Devil.

A land dispute complicates matters, with Thomas Putnam (Jeffrey Jones as he’s starting to gain weight) using his daughter to accuse his neighbors of witchcraft. Those accused of the crime would have their lands taken from their families and sold off. One of these unfortunate neighbors is John Proctor (Daniel Day-Lewis), with whom Abigail had an affair (the two figures’ ages are changed to accommodate this fictional affair). The cynical and not too religious John Proctor gradually becomes the most moral figure, and wrestles with the idea of whether to make a false confession or stick to his principles and be executed by hanging.

There’s a lot of moving parts that escalate the hysteria in the film. To be honest, the first two acts of the movie are kind of just okay, elevated by a great cast of actors. The problem might be the on-the-nose writing in parts, though director Nicholas Hytner does take advantage of the medium of film to expand the scenery and also use horses and wagons. The movie really gets good in the last act, when John Proctor becomes the main protagonist. Daniel Day-Lewis is one of the greatest actors of all time and he’ll have watchers getting invested in his struggle. Thanks to him and some good music from George Fenton, the ending hits all the right places emotionally.

Abigail Williams (Wynona Ryder in the center) and friends freak out over an alleged act of Devilry

The hysteria in the movie seems accurate, though the teenage girls’ mob behavior does come off as a little comical. Further research shows that The Crucible actually undersells some of the incredible leaps in logic the prosecution used to prove witchcraft. A notable example is the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer. It was believe that those under the control of the Devil couldn’t say the prayer properly. Defendants with particular accents or who stumbled nervously at points were thought to have been affected by demonic influence. There was one guy who actually cited the prayer perfectly, but it was claimed that the Devil had whispered in his ear to help him, so he was convicted anyways. This ludicrous bit of history didn’t make it into the movie, but the climax does have John Proctor and another of the accused start to recite the Lord’s Prayer in a last minute display of innocence.

I don’t find The Crucible as great as some other people think, but it does deliver in the last act. If you want to see a movie that really digs into New England and Puritan witch folklore, go see Robert Eggers’ horror movie The Witch (or don’t if you’re easily scared). The Crucible is actually the first of four movies on my list with Daniel Day-Lewis, so I’ve got a lot to look forward to.

Rating: 7/10

Here's a link to a big scene with Daniel-Day Lewis. Major spoiler moment.

Deputy Governor Thomas Danforth (Paul Scofield) was a more complex figure in the play, but was made more ambitious and self-serving in the movie to serve as an authoritarian antagonist. In reality he had no involvement with the court in the witchcraft trials except as an observer and was actually critical of what was taking place.