I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Absolutely Brilliant!

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

I feel a bit generous giving this movie a 5 out of 10 but my score is based on the way little Pearl's scarlet and gold dress looked and I did picture Demi Moore as Hester when I read the book. This movie is more like the Choose Your Own Adventure books from my childhood with Nathaniel Hawthorne thrown in. Demi has said not a lot of people have read the book even though it was published over one hundred years ago by one of America's greatest writers and has been a staple in high schools since time in memorial! Everyone who has read the book knows the meaning of the scarlet letter A for adultery changed to Able or Angel in regards to Hester because she helped out the people of her town when she was needed. The choice of the ending is an Indian attack with Hester and Pearl leaving with Rev. Arthur Dimmesdale goes against what Nathaniel Hawthorne had in mind. I wonder if his grandchildren and great-grandchildren were offended by this Hollywoodized version of their grandfather's story? The language in the book is beautiful and Pearl had more of a role in the book than this movie! Nepotism shows up because Demi has cast daughters Scout and Tallulah as Pearl and they don't really say anything! Robert Duvall and Gary Oldman do their best as Roger Chillingsworth and Rev. Dimmesdale. Do what Olive from "Easy A" says in regards to this story: watch the original story and not the one with Demi Moore as Hester taking a lot of baths and talking with a fake English accent!

I don't know where to begin. I'll just ramble off a list of things which I thought were ridiculous.1) In the beginning of the movie Hester talks about how much she has studied the Bible and even quoted Old Testament Scripture. Curiously though, she spends the rest of the movie making obscene theological blunders that the most novice of Christians would never make.2) She questions "how could a mere man know what is a sin before God" or something along those lines. Ummm...you're a Christian. It's called the Bible. You know that book that you told us you knew so much about in the beginning of the movie. If you are honestly questioning what is sin after reading the whole Bible, then you are either intellectually inept or you are a flagrant heretic. What would be the point of even questioning the very word "sin"? Who would care if you didn't believe in the Bible. The word "sin" is from Scripture.3) The movie clearly is pro-fornication, pro-adultery, pro-immoral church leaders, anti-Christian, anti-traditional marriage, anti-"white man", as clearly shown by how awfully the good Indians hated them. It also seemed pro-lust, pro-paganism, highly feminist in its viewpoint, and on and on. It's mainly liberal, modern day garbage.

I generally dislike movie critics because I have really liked many movies they pan and I've not liked some movies they extolled. I think all of performances in The Scarlet Letter were spot on. Demi's portrayal of a woman taking a stand against rigid moral codes and repression of women was very well done. She avoided being too strident trying to walk the hard line between the mores of the 1700's and following the demands of her heart and body in her love for Rev. Dimmesdale. Gary Oldman is one of my favorite actors and I've never seen him give a bad performance. The tight control he's trying to keep when he's so in love and lusting after Hester is a wonder to watch. The Reverend's place in his church, his community and his faith is turned upside down putting his life in jeopardy preventing him from doing what he knows is right in speaking up to defend his love and claim his child. The scene in the barn when Hester and Arthur finally consummate their love is one of the most sensual and beautifully filmed love scenes I've ever seen. Since I love happier endings, I'm glad they took poetic license and did not strictly adhere to the book.

I am not going to keep on comparing here, but this film as a film and an adaptation is a mess in my opinion. The book is one of the greatest American novels, and is so interesting and thoughtfully written. The film version of The Scarlet Letter does have exquisite costumes, scenery and cinematography, a lush John Barry score and despite the inconsistent accent and a slight need to over-compensate Gary Oldman is surprisingly credible as Dimmersdale. However, the script is trite and the storytelling is uninteresting, has little heart and has some overly-gratuitous scenes such as the bathing scene. The pace is also uneven, some of it is too quick while other scenes are ponderous and stilted. The direction feels lacking, and you know there's something wrong when Oldman gives the only half-decent performance. I love Edward Hardwicke and Joan Plowright but they have awful dialogue and their characters are not written well at all. Robert Duvall is embarrassing here, and that pained me to say that as he is usually brilliant. Worst of all is Demi Moore, I don't hate Moore as much as some do(I liked her very much in Ghost, A Few Good Men and The Hunchback of Notre Dame) but she is very bland and not very believable at all as Hester. Overall, disappointing and a failure film and adaptation-wise. 3/10 Bethany Cox