THE CRUCIBLE
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Copyright 1996 Mark R. Leeper
Capsule: THE CRUCIBLE is Arthur Miller's
allegory of the politics of the 1950s Red Scare
told with a setting of the Salem witch trials.
This 45-year-old play is as powerful a drama as you
will see on the screen this year. While a little
hampered by the 17th century prose, it remains a
moving theatrical experience. Rating: +3 (-4 to +4)
New York Critics: positive: 20, negative: 1, mixed:
4
THE CRUCIBLE is the story of the Salem witch trials, but it is a lot more than that. It is an examination of a society that through fear gives unquestioned authority and power to a select few supposed defenders. The result is an exercise in power far worse than the threat it was intended to curb. The House Un-American Activities Committee hearings, chaired by Senator Joseph McCarthy were the inspiration for Arthur Miller's original play, but the parallels he draws can be applied to any situation where the public allows itself to be ruled by fear rather than reason. It is a ready-made and fully- formed analogy that some can apply to the "political correctness" argument, others to the firearms debate or political issues with religious implications. The term "witch hunt" has come into common usage as any campaign against dissension, perhaps in large part because of this play.
The setting is Salem, Massachusetts in 1692. This is a community committed to an extreme devotion to its religion and what it sees as service to God. And if the Bible says that such things as witches exist, then witchcraft must be a very real and very present threat to the community. Several adolescent girls, led by Abigail Williams (played by Winona Ryder), are caught in the act playing the voodoo-like game of "conjuring boys." Williams has taken things a step further and has tried to use the magic to kill a woman she considers her enemy. At first she denies that the game had anything to do with witchcraft, but quickly discovers that she has happened onto what seems to her a good thing. The first suggestion that any of the people of Salem have engaged in witchcraft seems to bring down the wrath of the whole community. And the people of Salem, many already involved in minor conflicts with their neighbors, seem all too ready to accept and exploit witchcraft accusations against their enemies. Soon there area dozen or so girls making accusations and basking in the celebrity their accusations bring them.
Drawn into the situation are John Proctor (Daniel Day-Lewis) and his wife Elizabeth (Joan Allen). John had had a short dalliance with Abigail, but now wants to remain faithful to Elizabeth. It is a situation that Abigail, with her new-found power, discovers she can change. To investigate the accusations come first the Reverend Hale (Rob Campbell) and then the esteemed Judge Danforth (Paul Scofield), Deputy Governor of Massachusetts. Hale is a moderate man as likely to find an accused witch innocent as guilty. Judge Danforth, on the other hand, is a religious zealot who couches his actions in legalisms. At heart, however, he is deeply afraid of witchcraft himself and can no longer accept any possibility of innocence. He sees the girls' accusations as God giving him the tools to root out the Devil in Salem. Eventually the witch hunt will take on a life of its own and will get beyond even his control. Caught in all of this is John Proctor who still has some affection for Abigail but sees first hand the evil that Abigail is wielding.
Daniel Day-Lewis and Winona Ryder each seem acceptable by themselves, but somehow do not seems to have much dramatic chemistry together on the screen. Day-Lewis is made up with considerably more realism than is Ryder. He, like many of the people of the story, show the sign of a hard life with scars and with rotted teeth. Even making allowances for Ryder's youth, a similar hard life seems to have done little more than ruffle her hair. Ryder appears out of place and too well cared-for considering the look of most of the other people in the film. Joan Allen, who previously played Pat Nixon in NIXON gives a subtle uprightness to the role of Elizabeth Proctor. Paul Scofield playing another judge will surely bring memories of A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS. He brings a lot of the same magnetism to this role as he had in that, perhaps presenting another side of the same character. Familiar faces in less pivotal roles include Bruce Davison, Jeffrey Jones, and George Gaynes.
In some senses this production is a little too polished to feel accurate. The opening sequence shows a voodoo-like ceremony in the woods complete with mystic chalk symbols drawn on ground, and Tituba chanting a perfectly recorded version of the Yanvalou Chant. It was very theatrical but not very realistic. Some may find the film a little hard to follow, particularly in the first half hour. The viewer is introduced to a large number of characters speaking in the manner of 17th Century English. A word should be said about the accuracy of this film to the historical fact. It is not much beyond the names of some of the people. Abigail Williams was an eleven-year-old and John Proctor was sixty, so much of the Miller's tale of sexual revenge does not work as history. However I am willing to give Arthur Miller more latitude to play with the facts in this film than I give Gibson for BRAVEHEART. Robert Bolt in A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS or William Shakespeare with JULIUS CAESAR is doing a lot more than just telling an adventure tale. Miller is a writer who can tell a story of complexity with some profundity. If THE CRUCIBLE is not historically accurate, it transcends that. I personally hold BRAVEHEART more accountable for historical accuracy than I do THE CRUCIBLE.
THE CRUCIBLE is a powerful play on stage, but it has been made available to mass audiences only twice before, once as the 1957 French film LES SORCIERES DE SALEM and then again in 1967 as a play performed on CBS. With the exception of the latter, no non-live version has ever been available to American audience until now. It is something of a service that it is available now. I give it a +3 on the -4 to +4 scale.
Mark R. Leeper
mleeper@lucent.com
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