Daniel Day Lewis plays a masterful role in this adaptation of Arthur Miller’s play. This movie is spectacular. The Crucible may be pawned off as another play to movie, but not this one. Not this one at all. Arthur Miller himself did the screenplay and was nominated for an Oscar for it. The acting is above average, the movie plays out so well, it is long and drawn out, but the tension builds for an hour or so, and then explodes into one of the most magnificent stories ever told.

For the religious, this movie will be bring tears, for this movie parallels the life of Jesus in a lot of ways.

For the none religious, this movie will evoke tears for they are to kill an innocent man, for not confessing to a lie.

The movie follows the plot of a young woman and her friends who have lied about people, saying that they are witches.

The movie goes through some motions to create emotion, and as the women are closer and closer to getting found out, they continue lying and lying until they nail down people in the village, who will only make others profit of their deaths.

The film goes through three acts of accusation, conviction, and finally hanging. The first sets of hanging victims are all innocent, and no matter what they say, the crowds call for their deaths.

After these deaths, one man is accused, and the court will let the others go if he confesses to being in cahoots with the devil. Initially he does, but he foregoes that by not giving away his name, and in one of the most heart wrenching moments in cinema, Daniel Day Lewis cries out; “Leave me my name, I have no other, it is my NAME!!!!” and the tears started to roll down my cheek, as his name was all he had left.

I cleared the blurry vision as they killed his character, and two others for something they did not do.

The film evokes so much emotion as it fades to black after the noose.

The power of this movie lies in those that day without giving false confessions. It’s so hard to watch, imagine, and sink in. This movie ends on a major downer, but it is such a powerful film.

I highly recommend this film, to anyone, this is what movies are about. They are to be such great narrative. They did not need violence, sex, drugs, rock & roll, this film brought me to tears, as the emotional binds grew and grew to the characters and lies overtake this village.

Here is the trailer for The Crucible:

This movie is the best film I’ve seen in a long time. You may not agree, but then again…not everyone will agree with this site.

Go buy this film. Go see this film. I can’t believe that I shunned it when it first came out and I can’t believe that I didn’t like the play when I was forced to read it in high school. What a grave error I have made.