By: Brandon Ruggiero
The Scarlet Letter originated as a novel by author Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1850. Since then it has been translated into many films. One movie in particular is the 1995 version starring Demi Moore. Before I get into my review of the movie, I want to shed light on the reception of the movie. The 1995 version here has been dubbed one of the worst films ever made. In 1995, the year it came out, multiple critics named it “the worst film of the year”. For example, Amy E. Schwartz of Washington Post said in simple terms ¨That’s gotta be the worst movie I´ve ever seen.¨ Another example is Chris Hicks from Desert News saying its deviation from the source material represents Hollywood´s arrogance in its purest form.¨ As you can see critics and fans were very displeased with this movie. Not only that, but it was not successful at the box office either, grossing only $35 million of its $46 million dollar budget. While many people did not like this movie, I ended up enjoying it. I enjoyed it a lot actually, and when I found out it was perceived like this, I was really surprised. To me it wasn’t nearly as bad. I first watched this in my American Literature class in my Junior year of high school. I am now a senior. However, I recently came back to this movie after seeing it on my firestick and watched it again. I enjoyed it even more this time. Here is my review of the movie alongside a detailed summary of the movie.
The movie starts out in the 1600s. Specifically the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Hester Prynne, the main character played by Demi Moore, arrives overseas from England. Hester waits for her husband to arrive who is expected to arrive shortly thereafter. However, during this time, Hester Prynne falls in love with a young minister named Arthur Dimmesdal,e played by Gary Oldman. She finds herself pregnant with his child, and is therefore imprisoned for committing adultery. She is sentenced to wear an A symbolizing her crime. Hester is then hated and bashed by the townspeople for her crime. Hester’s husband finds out about the crime and disguises as Roger Chillingworth, played by Robert Duvall, and begins to seek out her paramour. Over the course of the story when Hester is on the scaffold being publicly humiliated, Arthur Dimmesdale confesses he is the father of her child. Towards the end of the story, Hester abandons her Scarlet Letter (the A) and departs with Arthur Dimmesdale to California.
What I really enjoyed about this movie is the plot and the characters’ acting. I really like that you could tell the movie was set in an older time period. I noticed when the movie first started the color of the screen gave off a vintage vibe, most likely indicating the 1600s time period. I also was intrigued and impressed by the fact at how authentic it was. I felt the emotions and scenes were really clear, I truly felt like I was witnessing an actual crime being committed,but that’s not all. I was also impressed with the acting. I felt each character conveyed their scenes with emotions and dedication. Specifically I was impressed with the acting of Demi Moore playing Hester Prynne. I love movies that have Demi Moore in them, so this was no exception. Demi Moore showed really good emotions and dedication in the scene where she is on the scaffold and is being punished. Things are being thrown at her, and she is being shamed for her punishment. Yet I love how she manages to keep a straight face, and keep a good attitude. She not once gives in to the townspeople, or gives up in general, and that truly caught my attention, and captivated me into this movie even more. I really enjoyed watching this movie, and I really don’t see the reason it was criticized so much. I think many people didn’t appreciate the meaning of it or the acting itself maybe. I would give this movie a 9/10. I really did enjoy it. I would recommend this movie to anyone. I promise you do not judge a book or movie in this case by what you hear, I truly believe if you watch it you will end up enjoying it.
Sources
https://www.deseret.com/1995/12/22/19211366/best-worst-movies-of-1995
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