The Scarlet Letter (DVD, 2002)

Roland Joffé's (director) & Douglas Day Stewart (screenplay writer) take many artist liberties in their adaptation of Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel, "The Scarlet Letter." Released on 13 October 1995, Demi Moore & Gary Oldman star & steam up the silver screen.

In 1666, Hester Prynne (Demi Moore) traveled to America seeking religious freedom & a homestead for husband, Roger Chillingworth (Robert Duvall) & herself. Joffé's remake of Hawthorne's story begins in the middle, with Hester (Moore) already out of jail with her infant & already wearing a large scarlet "A" for adulteress across her clothed bossom. Joffé's film starts out by telling what happened to lead up to Hester's conviction, imprisonment, sentence & pregnancy, which I believe improves the story considerably. My point being that the scandalous love affair between Hester & Arthur (Gary Oldman) needed to be the focal point, instead of the Hawthorne's belabored analysis of the sexually puritanical colonial Americans.

My curiosity was yearning to know how Hester & Arthur first met. Joffé's erotic version creates the initial passion when Hester's behind bushes watching Arthur swim naked in the river & playfully turns over on his back for a brief nude scene. Hester's mouth hangs open showing it's at that moment when she's captivated by the young attractive Rev. Arthur Dimmesdale.

Hester's quite strong willed & free spirited in contrast to the stoved up religious conservatives of Massachusetts Bay. While awaiting her husband's, Roger's (Robert Duvall's), arrival from England, she becomes attracted to the colony's minister, the shy & sweet Rev. Arthur Dimmesdale (Oldman). He is, however, as passionate & liberal a man as Hester (Moore) is a woman. Both struggle fiercely with the temptation of their mutually strong attraction; that is, until they hear that Chillingsworth has been killed in an Indian massacre. Hester & Arthur succumb to their love for one another & their ravishing sexual romance begins in all out brazen passion. But, when the Bay colonial puritans learn that their meek minister is shagging the rebellious widow, they force Hester to wear a scarlet "A" for adulteress on her clothing so that at all times she is socially shamed.

The formerly free-spirited liberal outlander is turned into an amoral social outcast. But, as usual in my reviews, there's much more to this classic story that I simply shant reveal!

Gary Oldman makes for an exquisite Rev. Dimmesdale, physically handsome, sensitively soft spoken, but emotionally a pillar of strength. Of course, Demi Moore grows more gorgeous with age, is a terrific character actor & has the power to make sensuous scenes sizzle. Robert Duvall is the perfect foil as an abusive husband who doesn't even look like he belongs anywhere close to Moore!

If this adaptation had been totally true to Hawthorne's novel it would have been among one of dozens of films that tried to do as such, only to wind up being quite mundane. Joffé's underrated achievement is a credit to generative artistic imagination.