Demi Moore plays the strong-willed Hester Prynne brilliantly, and Gary Oldman (I want to marry him) turns Reverend Dimsdale into an extremely complex and passionate character. The love between Hester Prynne and Reverend Dimsdale lasts throughout the movie with great intensity - all of it rooted in the one amazing love scene which leads to Prynne's pregnancy. Another powerful scene is when Hester is forced to admit to the board of elders that she is pregnant. Reverend Dimsdale, a high member of the board himself, is sitting behind her trying to maintain a calm expression while hearing this news for the first time. When the men tell her to name the guilty adulterer (her "fellow sinner") she refuses, and states that the father of her child is her true husband and their love transcends all man-made laws. To Dimsdale and Prynne, their love is true and righteous under the eyes of God, regardless of marriage and adultery laws. Prynne is thrown in jail for months and ends up having the baby in the cell. Dimsdale is never allowed to visit, but comes to baptize the child and begs Hester to let him admit the truth. Hester persistently refuses, knowing that it will lead to his death.

The erotic aspect of the movie was another addition to the original story. The nude scenes were sensuous and tasteful. They also seemed to have a distinct purpose. The sight of the human body in all its natural beauty contrasted strikingly with the cold ways of the Puritans, hence showing how one was constantly forced to stifle her nature in such a society. During the love scene between Prynne and Dimsdale, Prynne's slave girl becomes enchanted by a red bird that shows up periodically in the movie as a symbol of nature and magic. She slowly undresses, while dancing a bewitching dance, and bathes in her mistress's bathtub. Demi Moore bares her pregnant belly while in jail, and the birth scene is both beautiful and realistic.

A subtle element of paganism comes across as the natural reaction of free-spirited people to Puritanism. The primitive rituals of the Native Americans also add to the contrast with Puritan society. Themes of nature are weaved throughout the activities of the women and the natives. The antithesis of this nature is the patriarchal Puritan society. One of the most powerful images in the movie is the circle of women praying in the jail cell. Nature bound by iron bars.

Hester Prynne enters this small Puritan town in the colony of Massachusetts alone and determined to live her life as she sees fit. She undermines many of the stifling rules that serve as moral guidelines for women. She buys a house on her own, explaining that her husband would arrive shortly. She also begins women's meetings with other ladies of the town. Unfortunately, these gatherings are short-lived because the "iron men" decide that talk between women with no man present is sinful.

This leads to the theme of the witch hunts. Prynne's child, Pearl, bares a red birthmark on her belly that everyone insists is the mark of a witch. The woman who midwifed Prynne's child is then accused of witchcraft as well. Soon, a wagon load of women are being sent to the gallows - their deaths miraculously stopped by a sudden outbreak of warfare between the natives and the colonists. Okay, so this is where the Hollywood cheesiness takes over. I won't spoil the ending, but I will tell you that it is a typical Hollywood one - somehow managing to turn one of the saddest endings ever into a happy one. ( I must admit that I was glad for them though.)

The most striking quality of this film is the integrity of the acting. It is incredible throughout. Robert Duvall plays the psychotic Dr. Chillingworth, convincingly shifting between the stern Puritan doctor and the frenzied indian warrior that has become a part of his soul. Gary Oldman's portrayal of Reverend Dimsdale valorizes him into a much more heroic character than Hawthorne's novel did. The stern Puritan lifestyle of the town is constantly reflected by the facial expressions and habits of the town members.

The best way for a society to be confident that its lifestyle is righteous is to have something to measure it against. Prynne's "sinful" ways allowed this Massachusetts town to reflect on its moral perfection. Hester, as well as the other women accused of witchery, provided perfect scapegoats for these people. Perhaps this film is a bit harsh on Puritan society and on white men in particular. Perhaps it deglorifies the idea of our forefathers coming over here and beginning a new world. However, many of the points it makes are undeniable. These things did happen - and turning Hawthorne's novel into an historical fiction is somewhat ingenious.

© Trincoll Journal, 1995.