As a result, we see Winona Ryder, as Abigail Williams, and her coterie of bewitched girls, screaming hysterically and accusing innocent women of witchcraft without the necessary background which would make these accusations plausible. Her previous relationship with John Proctor (Daniel Day-Lewis), in the absence of other motivations, seems to be the primary reason for her behavior, but this thwarted love does not explain the extent of her rage or the involvement of the other girls. Day-Lewis is reduced to the role of victim, and one of the hallmarks of his acting, his subtlety, is absent here. Some details of the scenery also ring false. Houses in this period were very small because of the difficulty of heating, though John Proctor's house here is as large as that of a governor, and other buildings, including the church/meeting house are huge, contrary to the religious avoidance of display during the period.

This is a Hollywood version of the witchcraft trials, capitalizing on the sensational without conveying the tumultuous background--the Indian wars which were just ending, the growing independence of individuals, the increasing resentment of the all-powerful church with its hard-line restrictions, the limitations placed on women, and most importantly, the lack of any role whatsoever for young women, who were not old enough to assume a woman's role but were old enough to have reached sexual maturity without any outlet for their feelings, a lethal mix of boredom and repression. The film is beautiful, and the acting, though one-dimensional, is as effective as it can be in the absence of fully-developed motivation for the girls' hysteria. The "witches" are reduced to cartoons here, and Miller's parallels between these trials and the McCarthy hearings of the 1950s, which put the play's trials into a modern context, are missing. Mary Whipple


More Than Accusations   May 18, 2004
 9 out of 12 found this review helpful

Winona Ryder and Daniel Day Lewis star in this adaptation of The Crucible by Arthur Miller. The film portrays the growth of the mass witch craze in Salem, Massachussetts in 1692. From the beginning of the film, it is apparent that this is is not just a historical interpretation, but a production that delves into the web of fear, prejudice and deceit created by a simple lie.
Abigail Williams (Ryder) plays the housemaid who loses her job when her mistress, suspects that she has a fancy for her husband, John Proctor. (Daniel Day Lewis)
Ryder has a delightfully evil personna in this film and while you want her to pay for her sins, the film pulls you in with each of her lies and pretences. Day Lewis expertly pulls off a character that would be a challenge for any actor, and one who keeps you watching until the end.
As you watch The Crucible, bear in mind that though this is not necessarily an accurate historical interpretation of what happened in Salem during the witch craze, the horrifying events that take place in this film aren't far from the truth. The reality in Miller's play shines through. An acusation of dabbling in the occult led to the death of 19, whether they were wrongly victimised or not. I challenge you not to be moved by what you see.


"There is prodigious danger in seeking loose spirits"   December 4, 2003
 4 out of 5 found this review helpful

The Crucible is gripping, yet it is also frightening and terrible in the inexorable march of its protagonists towards their doom. The story is based on Arthur Miller's rendition of the infamous 1692 Salem witch trials. In this Puritan town, a group of girls are caught dancing and love-spell casting in the woods. To save themselves from being whipped, they claim it was the Devil's doing and furthermore that some of Salem's residents are compacted with Lucifer. But private vengeance is also at work here. The girls' ringleader, Abigail Williams (Winona Ryder) is obsessed with a local farmer (Daniel Day-Lewis) and will stop at nothing to get him for herself. Then the court investigating the claims of witchery begins to proscribe hanging for those who won't 'confess'. . . . . . . . . .

It is unfortunate then, that a movie such as this is marred by several flaws. While it vividly and unnervingly portrays the transformation of a community into warring factions, and ultimately the disintegration into mob-mentality and mass hysteria, it also seems very stagey. You can almost see the notations in the film script - "crowd murmurs in agreement", and so on. Additionally, Day-Lewis, and particularly Ryder, play the entire film at full volume. Thus, several integral speeches get lost in the blast. However, there are some excellent performances from those in the court scenes - the steely remorselessness of Judge Danforth and the pompous and insidious questioning of Judge Hathorne. Fortunately director Nicholas Hytner has moved as much of the action as possible out of doors, which is just as well, for Puritan dwellings are no great objects of beauty.

However, despite its shortcomings and largely unadventurous cinematography, The Crucible is a film that will remain with the viewer long after its dramatic and memorable conclusion. Even in death there is triumph and redemption.