Review of The Scarlet Letter (1995) by Jeremy K — 17 Aug 2004

Scarlet Letter, The (1995) Demi Moore, Gary Oldman, Robert Duvall, Lisa Joliffe-Andoh, Edward Hardwicke, Robert Prosky, Roy Dotrice, Joan Plowright, D: Roland Joffe. Other than the title, this ?Hollywood? debacle has little to do with Nathaniel Hawthorne?s 1850 American classic, set in 17th-century Boston.

Moore is miscast playing Puritan Hester Prynne, who?s condemned to wear the scarlet letter ?A? of adultery and boring a child out of wedlock. Oldman gives an overwrought performance as Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, who shares a sin with Hester, and Duvall is Hester?s left-for-dead husband.

?Freely adapted? means getting a pointless narration by Pearl (Hester?s daughter), throwing the characters in bed together, and adding everything from Indian attacks to witch hunts, even to a tacked-on happy ending, that don?t necessarily benefit the story.

This is 20th-century moviemaking gone amiss: ?A? for abominable. Running Time: 135 minutes and rated R for violence and sexuality. *.