“The Crucible” is a movie that was released on November 27, 1996 based on the play written by Arthur Miller in 1953. Nicholas Hytner directed the movie. Arthur Miller was born in Harlem, New York in 1915. “The Crucible” is said to reflect Miller’s unwillingness to cooperate with the House of Un- American Activities Committee. This committee subpoenaed Miller after having suspicion of his affiliation with the communist party. This suspicion led to Miller’s passport application being denied and Miller consequently having to appear in front of the committee.
When in front of this committee Miller would not name names or assist the committee in their struggles. The play was also said to be an attack on McCarthyism. McCarthyism was based on Joseph McCarthy. He was a United States Senator who believed individuals of the communist party had infiltrated the United States. This belief caused paranoia and a sense of a “witch hunt” for individuals that were accused of being communists. This is primarily an example of how the Salem “witch hunt” portrayed in “The Crucible” could be connected to an event in Arthur Miller’s play.
The main premise of the movie s about the problems that arise when protecting the innocent becomes obsolete and the main goal is to simply rid the area of all possible cases of danger whether these cases are valid or not. These “cases” could be considered communists like the problem in the United States, or the Salem witch-hunt trials that are portrayed in the play and film. The movie takes place in a small Puritan community in Salem, Massachusetts. The film revolves around a group of teenage girls that are caught performing a sort of witchcraft in the beginning scene of the movie.
The girls are dancing and ttempting to make the men they love fall in love with them. However, the minister finds the girls practicing their witchcraft in the woods and various consequences occur throughout the movie. One specific woman is Abigail Williams. She is the former servant of the Proctor’s. Abigail actually does practice witchcraft at one point when she drinks blood in order to kill Mrs. Proctor because she is in love with Mr. Proctor. These events throw Salem into a series of trials and issues that push the town’s residents to their breaking points.
The movie starts off with a view of the teenage girls running hrough the woods giggling. The colors are dark and dreary. The audience gets a sense of a chill in the air because the girls are dressed in layers. The setting is foreshadowing the dangers lurking in the woods. These dangers include the minister unknowingly observing the girls and their mischief, and the impending struggles that the girls and town will face consequently from their actions. The first witchcraft suggestion comes from Reverend Hale when he is examining Betty and says, “I will do all| I can… ut this may be a sickness beyond my part. ” This sends the townspeople nto a hysteria of questions surrounding the mystery behind Betty’s illness. The scene then takes a drastic turn when it is only Abigail and Reverend Parris upstairs watching over Betty. He questions Abigail on whether or not they were dancing naked in the forest. Abigail lies and answers no. Reverend Parris slaps Abigail and grows very angry at the fact that he is being lied to. He grabs Abigail and forces her to look at the ill Betty.
Then, Reverend Parris questions Abigail’s relationship with her former employer John Proctor. Abigail then grows frustrated however; he is yet again lying because she and Mr. Proctor had a relationship. This is an important scene in the movie because it portrays the beginning of the clash between lies and the truth that the town will struggle with throughout the film. Further into the film the audience sees the girls who were in the woods running out of church service. This could be viewed in more ways than one.
The girls could simply be leaving church to meet or they could be symbolically running away from God and towards their witchcraft. Shortly after this scene the audience learns more about Abigail’s true character. She tells the girls “Let anyone breathe a word or the edge of a word about the other things, (referring to the mischief in the woods) and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night, and I will bring with me a pointy reckoning that will shudder you, and you know I can do it.
Abigail says this in a very stern voice, with little movement no variance in her breathing. This shows the audience and the girls that she is ruthless and serious about her threat. It seems as though there are seldom times when Abigail can be found on a lighter, softer side. This happens first when she peaks with John Proctor on the side of a house. Her body language is soft. She leans into John and her eyes never fall from gazing upon him. Another important relationship in the movie is between Mr. Proctor and Mrs. Proctor.
Their relationship is cold and unloving. The audience can tell this by the fact that their eyes rarely meet and their voices never falter with emotion when speaking. The town begins to go mad with proclaiming every wrongdoing or accident is an example of witchcraft. Many arrests are made and the women are held in front of the town’s council. The way the scenes unveil is a sense of craziness. The looks in the town’s people’s eyes are looks of vengeance and their quick grabbing movements at the young women show their carelessness.
The movie is summed up in the end by John Proctor pleading guilty to witchcraft and then sentenced to his death. He is sentenced because he will not give up anyone’s names. This is very similar to what was previously discussed earlier in the playwright’s actual troubles with the House of Un-American Activities Committee. One main thing that reoccurred throughout the film was the use of lighting. Through the majority of the movie the lighting as dark. The clothing choices were draped over the actor’s bodies loosely and were usually gray in color.
The fact that there wasn’t much variation in color led the audience to focus more on the character’s body language and through the character’s body language it often portrayed more about the scene than the words that were actually being spoken. Also, another important note was to watch the character’s eyes and breathing. Often you could tell their change in mood or thought just by their lack of blinking or their increased breath. I would recommend this movie to someone who is either nterested in the Salem witch trials or to someone who enjoys seeing the unraveling of a town due to exaggerated events.
The acting in the movie added an interesting view of the play. The characters were often strong and bold, yet, like Abigail, could change on a dime to a softer version if prompted. The movie was enjoyable and can hold an audience’s attention with the increased tension between characters. The ending left a few loose ends, but personally I enjoy when all of the questions aren’t answered because it leaves the audience with their own interpretations of what could have happened.
