The Crucible

Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Winona Ryder, Paul Scofield, Joan Allen, Bruce Davison, Rob Campbell, Jeffrey Jones, Peter Vaughan, Karron Graves, Charlayne Woodard, Frances Conroy, Elizabeth Lawrence, George Gaynes, Rachael Bella
Directed by: Nicholas Hytner
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Drama
1996

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: In Salem, Massachusetts, a woman (Winona Ryder) claims to have influenced by the evil of witches, which leads to an uproar in the religious community.

Review:

Tim: The Crucible is a good movie. I want to stress that up front. It's effectively made, appropriately adapts a literary classic (a play I'm sad to say I haven't read), and features strong performances. While watching the film, I was mostly entertained. However, there's something that feels just off about the film. I liked the movie, but never anything more than that. I'll try to explain here.

The first thing that comes to mind is how joyless this film is. It's just no fun to watch it. I acknowledge this seems like a strange complaint about a brutal story concerning the clash of faith and government, about unfounded accusations, innocent victims, mass hysteria. Where's the fun in any of that? I'm not suggesting the film needed more jokes or anything so simple. It just feels to me like everyone involved in this movie was doing a homework assignment for a class they didn't enjoy. Even the strong performances feel just a bit forced. I don't know if it was set conditions or what, but I didn't get a sense of love from anyone involved in this production. I recognize I can't know what was really happening, this is just the impression I get from the film. It feels a bit dry. Yes, there's big emotional scenes, but it's this weird reservation, not just the level of reservedness you'd expect from Salem residents in 1692. I know not every movie needs to be "enjoyable," but this one suffers a bit for that.

The emotion that the movie evokes most is rage. Arthur Miller's play was a fictionalized retelling of the Salem Witch Trials and it would be absurd to think this movie isn't fiction, too. But, director Nicholas Hytner does an outstanding job of angering the audience. You watch supposed learned men and men of faith (women didn't get much to say back then) condemn innocent people on the flimsiest of evidence. It's an outrage to consider, even 300+ years later. That is one of the film's greatest strengths- it takes this historical event we all learned about in school and it feels real- you see the injustice and you feel outraged. That's a very good thing. I hated many characters in this film for their actions- what an accomplishment by the cast and director!

The only problem here is that there's not much room for anything else. I didn't really care about any of the characters. It's a big cast, so we never get enough time with any of them. There's characters who emerge as more heroic, but they felt like placeholders. We never really got the chance to build an emotional connection with them. So, when we get to the big emotional moments at the end, they fall a bit flat. That's a good movie there, but miles away from a great one.

The cast is definitely top notch. Daniel Day-Lewis is undoubtedly one of the greatest actors of all time. He's good in this role- he gives a strong, believable performance that feels authentic. As mentioned, he's not able to establish a strong enough emotional connection with the audience- I didn't really care if his character lived or died. But, if you need someone to spout dialogue with true emotion, Day-Lewis is your guy. He's quite strong in the lead role. Winona Ryder is excellent, too. I really like Ryder, but despised her character, which is a testament to her acting ability. She plays her character perfectly- what starts out as self-preservation soon spirals into something else entirely. She's a fascinating, complex character. I disliked her but was so intrigued by her actions and her motivations. Ryder is a big reason why. It's also fun to see Day-Lewis and Ryder interacting on screen together.

I have to say, I liked Joan Allen's performance, but I'm a bit surprised she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her performance is good, of course, but I can't think of anything great she did on screen. She's involved in the emotional climax, yes. But do we love her character? Questionable. Her role is fairly small, too. I actually thought Ryder gave a far stronger performance. I like Allen, so I won't complain too much- as stated, she's really good. It just surprises me she was deemed that strong. Paul Scofield is really good in his supporting role. He's a talented actor and while his character is frustrating to watch, that's because Scofield is such a master and knows exactly how to elicit the right emotions from the audience. Bruce Davison and Jeffrey Jones are both effective- they are consummate supporting players. Rob Campbell surprised me- I liked his character much more than I expected and I thought he more than held his own against the strong cast. He emerged as one of the pleasant surprises for me. It was nice seeing Peter Vaughan here, too.

There's some truly effective scenes throughout the film. The highlight for me was the scene in the courtroom with Day-Lewis and Allen. It's staged for sure, but it's brilliant theater and incredibly intense. That's the one scene more than any other that had me sitting up, riveted. That one felt far more powerful than the climax, although the movie seems unaware of that.

The Crucible is a good, well-made movie. It tells a powerful story that feels as relevant today as 300 years ago. It features a strong cast who all give good performances. In addition to Allen's nomination, the only other one the film received was for Best Adapted Screenplay. I can't believe this film was a true contender for either. That feels appropriate to me- a film nominated for 2 Academy Awards and never really had a shot at either. I liked the movie, I'm glad I watched it, but there's nothing special here. It's not the kind of film anyone would ever need to revisit. Good, but not good enough.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Last of the Mohicans, In the Name of the Father, The Scarlet Letter