The Crucible (1996)

7/10. This film covers that black eye on the New World known as the Salem witch trials. In the film, the town of Salem, in the colony of Massachusetts is turned upside down over accusations of witchcraft. Many are arrested and some are hanged. The thing is, the accusations all come from a group of young girls who lie to assist their own jealousies, vanities, and fears of reprisal. Once the government steps in everyone is vulnerable to the accusation of witchcraft and the whole town is whipped into mass hysteria And with strict literal puritans running the courtroom you know this won't end well.

The whole subject matter is hard to watch for me being a Christian, as it's always difficult to see your brothers and sisters portrayed as hypocrites, even if it's rightfully so.

I should note that this is based on a screenplay adaptation of Arthur Miller's most famous play, by the playwright himself. He initially wrote the Crucible as a response to having been forced to testify before the House of Representatives' Committee on Un-American Activities, that is, the McCarthy investigations in 1956. You can definitely see why the McCarthy era is now commonly referred to as a witch hunt.

On the production side, Daniel Day-Louis is excellent as always. Winona Ryder is awful as usual. When the two are acting in the same scene together, she just comes off looking like a rank amateur. It's interesting to see the great Paul Scofield on the opposite side of the bar as he was in "A Man For All Seasons". Though there's weight in some of the performances, most of the townspeople and government officials seem like caricatures, even if they have excellent King James style lines to read.

All in all, a parable of the dangers of mass hysteria. Hard to watch, but a good film nonetheless.