The Crucible (1996)


 

The Crucible (1996)

“There is prodigious danger in seeking loose spirits. I fear it.”

“I never dreamed any of this for you… I wanted you, was all.”

"I have given you my soul. Leave me my name!"
-The Crucible

It's astounding how we so often justify our actions to assuage our guilt. We prefer to build a lie around our failures, rather than just take stock and accept the truth. The truth is, we all fail. There is no one on this earth, who hasn't, at one time or another fallen short of the person we know we can be. It is the everlasting struggle to accept the better angels of our nature, instead of granting fuel to the fire of our demons.
The Crucible is a remarkable examination of those demons. Our ability to hide behind our failures is the flame that perpetuates The Crucible in all its probing of the frailty of human nature. This extraordinary chronicle of the Salem Witch Trials profoundly illustrates the perpetuating realities of scapegoating as a way to cover a multitude of sins. At its heart The Crucible is a film about placing blame where it does not belong, and the effect that has on the human psyche. The film is quite literally a witch-hunt for the sake of excising demons that do not exist. In other words, the very thing that Salem used to extinguish evil was, in fact, the very thing that allowed evil free reign in their small Massachusetts town.
From all angles The Crucible is a masterpiece of the corrosive power of misunderstanding and disbelief. Though there is hope here as well, The Crucible profoundly understands the need for forgiveness and its impact on our journey towards the truth. All told, It is a film and play that seeks the human truth behind a horrific historical event. As with most dramatic depictions of history, accuracy is not the primary focus. The importance here lies in The Crucible's comprehension of the human cost of distorting the truth for our own benefit.
That is to say, The Crucible maintains its historical impact by the very way it eloquently conveys its historic alterations. They are additive to the truth, not destructive of it. Director Nicholas Hytner and screenwriter/playwright Arthur Miller with the rest of their team, offer us an extraordinary lens into the human condition. Revealing that, more often than not, the demons lurking at our door are the ones we create to save us from ourselves. Who then can be saved? What is the phrase? The Truth will set you free.

Rated PG-13 for intense depiction of the Salem witch trials, including sexual situations and references, as well as brief graphic nudity (you see a girl's butt and breast near the start of the film. This part of the sequence is a few seconds long, if that.)

I found The Crucible to be thematically resident, thought-provoking and deeply meaningful. I hope in some way you do too.

The Crucible is available to stream on Netflix with a subscription. It is also available to purchase on any digital video streaming service. It is available physically on DVD and Blu-ray disc.

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