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The Scarlet Letter (1995)

Rate: 5
Viewed: 12/17

12/17: The Scarlet Letter is an okay movie.

I spent some time thinking about what's wrong with it. I've never read the book, so I can't comment on the differences despite many reporting it's hardly an adaptation of Nathaniel Hawthorne's story. The plot reminds me plenty of The Crucible, but the Daniel Day-Lewis film wasn't released until a year later.

As for Gary Oldman, having seen many of his performances, I try to be neutral as much as possible, but there's a certain layer of fakeness that surrounds his acting technique which has always been there since day one. It's quite telling in The Scarlet Letter when he's in several scenes with Robert Duvall, who's masterly once again, although he didn't do that bad of a job overall.

I hate to say this, but Demi Moore is the one who killed the film. Maybe "killed" is too strong of a word, but she looks all wrong: a 90's actress trying to make it work in the 17th century sense. Either she's not believable or can't emote properly enough. The other problem is Demi Moore has no chemistry with Gary Oldman. I mean, they try and try, but it's never there, hence the mediocrity. At least, the writing is decent enough for me not to be bothered by it.

What's with the deus ex machina when Demi Moore's and Gary Oldman's characters were about to be hanged before the Indians came to start a small battle of their own? And for what reason? I didn't know they cared about white people so much. The movie poster seems to indicate it's a sensual movie that's along the lines of Como agua para chocolate, but I assure you that it's not.

All in all, stronger acting performances would've made The Scarlet Letter a better movie, but it's a pity since I expected a lot from Roland Joffé.

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