'Abigail Williams In The Crucible'

“The Crucible” is a movie that was released on November 27, 1996 based on the play written by Arthur Miller in 1953. Nicholas Hytner directed the movie. Arthur Miller was born in Harlem, New York in 1915. “The Crucible” is said to reflect Miller’s unwillingness to cooperate with the House of Un-American Activities Committee. This committee subpoenaed Miller after having suspicion of his affiliation with the communist party. This suspicion led to Miller’s passport application being denied and Miller consequently having to appear in front of the committee. When in front of this committee Miller would not name names or assist the committee in their struggles. The play was also said to be an attack on McCarthyism. McCarthyism was based on Joseph
The film revolves around a group of teenage girls that are caught performing a sort of witchcraft in the beginning scene of the movie. The girls are dancing and attempting to make the men they love fall in love with them. However, the minister finds the girls practicing their witchcraft in the woods and various consequences occur throughout the movie. One specific woman is Abigail Williams. She is the former servant of the Proctor’s. Abigail actually does practice witchcraft at one point when she drinks blood in order to kill Mrs. Proctor because she is in love with Mr. Proctor. These events throw Salem into a series of trials and issues that push the town’s residents to their breaking points. The movie starts off with a view of the teenage girls running through the woods giggling. The colors are dark and dreary. The audience gets a sense of a chill in the air because the girls are dressed in layers. The setting is foreshadowing the dangers lurking in the woods. These dangers include the minister unknowingly observing the girls and their mischief, and the impending struggles that the girls and town will face consequently from their
This happens first when she speaks with John Proctor on the side of a house. Her body language is soft. She leans into John and her eyes never fall from gazing upon him. Another important relationship in the movie is between Mr. Proctor and Mrs. Proctor. Their relationship is cold and unloving. The audience can tell this by the fact that their eyes rarely meet and their voices never falter with emotion when speaking. The town begins to go mad with proclaiming every wrongdoing or accident is an example of witchcraft. Many arrests are made and the women are held in front of the town’s council. The way the scenes unveil is a sense of craziness. The looks in the town’s people’s eyes are looks of vengeance and their quick grabbing movements at the young women show their carelessness. The movie is summed up in the end by John Proctor pleading guilty to witchcraft and then sentenced to his death. He is sentenced because he will not give up anyone’s names. This is very similar to what was previously discussed earlier in the playwright’s actual troubles with the House of Un-American Activities