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The first scene in “The Crucible” strikes the first wrong note. We are in Salem, Mass., in 1692. By the light of a full moon, a minister happens upon a group of adolescent girls, naked, dancing in the forest around a boiling pot of witches' brew. In all the troubled history of Salem, was there ever an event like this? How did the young girls, so carefully protected, slip from their homes? How did they come to be so uninhibited, in a Puritan society, that they could dance naked together? In a movie that will be about false accusations of witchcraft, this is an ominous beginning; if it looks like witchcraft, sounds like witchcraft and smells like witchcraft, then can it possibly be an innocent frolic of high-spirited young teenagers? This scene was offstage, wisely, in the original 1952 stage production of Arthur Miller's “The Crucible.” To show it in this new film version is a mistake, because the play is not about literal misbehavior but about imagined transgressions; what one imagines a witch does is infinitely more stimulating and troubling than this child's play.

Miller's play is about religious hysteria fanned by repressed and denied sexual lust. During the course of the action there will be an outbreak of accusations of witchcraft--all of them false, most of them inspired either by sexual revenge or misguided holy ecstasy. When the play was first produced, it was easily decoded as an allegory about the anti-communist frenzy of the McCarthy period. Today, ironically, we have come full circle; we are no longer paranoid about communists, but we are once again paranoid about Satan-worship.

Perhaps every age gets the “Crucible” it deserves. Anyone who has seen the recent documentary “Paradise Lost: The Child Murders of Robin Hood Hills” will recognize in its portrait of a small Arkansas town many parallels with this fable about Salem, including those who mask their own doubts in preemptive charges of Satanic conspiracies. (Would Satanism die out altogether if not for the zeal of its opponents in publicizing it?) At the center of the story of “The Crucible” is one moment of unguarded lust, in which a good man named John Proctor ( Daniel Day-Lewis ) commits adultery with a saucy wench named Abigail Williams ( Winona Ryder ), his servant girl. She is one of the naked moonlight dancers, and is furious because she was rejected by a repentant Proctor, and dismissed by Proctor's wife Elizabeth ( Joan Allen ). After being witnessed in the midnight revels by the Rev. Parris ( Bruce Davison ) and charged with unholy behavior, she counters with accusations against Proctor.

Parris is a narrow man but not a bad one. He brings in a consultant, Rev. Hale (Rob Campbell), who forces one of the other revelers to confess. (She is a slave from Barbados who allegedly tutored the local girls, although it is hard to imagine class and racial barriers being so easily crossed at that time.) Soon the whole village is abroil with accusations and counter-accusations. Hale begins to suspect some of the motives, but events have been set inexorably in motion. An experienced witchhunter, Judge Danforth ( Paul Scofield ), is brought to town, takes an early hard line against witchcraft, and then finds it impossible to back down, even as the evidence seems to be evaporating. He fears losing face--and believes obscurely that *someone* should be punished, lest witchcraft seem to be condoned. This is of course the same dilemma faced by all Satan-floggers: Without Satanists to flog, they'd be out of a job.

These threads lead to a climax in which the accused are required to admit to their guilt or be executed. We know all the players--who is guilty, who is innocent, what the issues are--and yet the film's climactic scenes lack a certain urgency. As Proctor stands on the scaffold, making his moral stand, we are less than persuaded. The story has all the right moves and all the correct attitudes, but there is something lacking at its core; I think it needs less frenzy and more human nature.

The characters I believed in most were Elizabeth Proctor, the Rev. Hale, and Judge Danforth. As written and acted, they seem like plausible people doing their best in an impossible situation. Too many of the others seem like fictional puppets. The village girls in general (and Abigail Williams in particular) don't even seem to belong to the 17th century; as they scurry hysterically around the village, they act like they've seen too many movies. And as John Proctor, Daniel Day-Lewis has the task of making moral stands that are noble, yes, but somehow pro forma. “The Crucible” is a drama of ideas, but they seem laid on top of the material, not organically part of it.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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Film credits.

The Crucible (1996)

Rated PG-13 For Intense Depiction Of The Salem Witch Trials

115 minutes

Daniel Day-Lewis as John Proctor

Winona Ryder as Abigail Williams

Paul Scofield as Judge Danforth

Joan Allen as Elizabeth Proctor

Bruce Davison as Reverend Parris

Directed by

• Nicholas Hytner

Screenplay by

• Arthur Miller

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The crucible, common sense media reviewers.

Plodding film based on play has mature themes, sex, violence

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

People lie and accuse others to save themselves. H

Abigail, who loves Proctor, deflects blame for her

This world is merciless and violent. With no evide

Abigail tries to reignite a past affair with Proct

"God," "Lord," and "damn.

Adults drink wine.

Parents need to know that The Crucible is an intense 1996 exploration of the Salem witch trials based on Arthur Miller's play. It delves into the basest human instincts: violence, self-protection, lust, hypocrisy, territorialism, paranoia, and crowd mania. Religious fervor is shown in its worst light,…

Positive Messages

People lie and accuse others to save themselves. Honest people are sometimes punished rather than rewarded for their honesty. People sometimes risk death to stand up for their principles.

Positive Role Models

Abigail, who loves Proctor, deflects blame for her dancing and conjuring spells by claiming others brought the devil into her. Jealous of Proctor's wife, Elizabeth, Abigail accuses her of contact with the devil and gets Elizabeth thrown into jail. Girls faint, pretending that the devil is in them. Honest people come forward to defend falsely accused friends, and they are arrested by a corrupt government for their efforts.

Violence & Scariness

This world is merciless and violent. With no evidence, so-called witches and servants of the devil are rabidly pursued, jailed, and hanged. Abigail and others bring false charges of devilry and witchery against innocents to wipe their hands clean of lesser offenses. A man is tortured and ultimately crushed to death when townspeople place heavy rocks on his chest to induce him to inform on others. Alleged purveyors of witchcraft are threatened with hanging, and hanging is briefly shown. Servants are beaten and smacked. A woman kisses a man and he pushes her away, to the ground. Girls dramatically pretend to faint and fall to the ground. A girl smashes a rooster to the ground, then smears her face with its blood. Abigail angrily hits her younger cousin.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Abigail tries to reignite a past affair with Procter. She kisses him passionately, but he pushes her away. A girl's buttocks and breasts are shown briefly and foggily through dim light.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

"God," "Lord," and "damn."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that The Crucible is an intense 1996 exploration of the Salem witch trials based on Arthur Miller's play. It delves into the basest human instincts: violence, self-protection, lust, hypocrisy, territorialism, paranoia, and crowd mania. Religious fervor is shown in its worst light, with so-called sinners accusing others of sin. Religious and political leaders, as well as judges and neighbors, prove to be corrupt and self-serving. Expect brief nudity: From afar and in fog, a girl's buttocks and breasts are briefly shown. A married man discusses a past affair with a young single woman. They kiss, then he pushes her away violently. There is talk of hanging as punishment for refusing to admit to witchcraft, and hanging is briefly seen. Servants are beaten and smacked. A man is tortured and ultimately crushed to death when townspeople place heavy rocks on his chest to induce him to inform on others. A girl smashes a rooster to the ground, then smears her face with its blood. The 17th-century language echoing Salem witch trial transcripts may pose a challenge for young modern viewers. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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Community Reviews

• Parents say (3)
• Kids say (5)

Based on 3 parent reviews

Great acting

Exceptional, what's the story.

THE CRUCIBLE pits good against evil. Orphan Abigail ( Winona Ryder ) has been dismissed from the employ of John ( Daniel Day-Lewis ) and Elizabeth Proctor ( Joan Allen ) after Elizabeth learns John has had an affair with the younger woman. When Abigail and other young women "conjure spirits" in the woods, hoping this will make Proctor come back to her, she is discovered by her uncle, the priggish hard-liner Rev. Parris ( Bruce Davison ). Fearing ruination and punishment, Parris and Abigail accuse others of putting the devil into the girls. Abigail wants vengeance against her rival and accuses Elizabeth of being in cahoots with the devil. John admits to adultery to expose Abigail's vindictive scheme but gets himself hanged when he refuses to admit a falsehood -- that the devil came to him as well.

Is It Any Good?

This overlong, didactic history lesson can be a tough slog for even avid students of this black period in American history. Playwright Arthur Miller wrote the play in 1953, paralleling accusations of witchcraft with equally hysterical accusations of Communism through post-World War II America, a political strategy that ruined the lives of many blacklisted men and women. The decision to mimic 17th-century speech, with its jarring locutions and odd verb tenses, can be off-putting and stiffens a plot that might otherwise be more engaging. Daniel Day-Lewis is persuasive as Proctor, but all the fainting, crying, and hysteria make for a lot of scenery chewing.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the historical circumstances under which Miller wrote The Crucible , using the Salem witch trials to parallel power gone unchecked in 1950s American leaders, who labeled their political opponents Communist.

Why do you think someone who speaks the truth might be seen as a threat to society?

Do you think religious beliefs should play a role in how government is run? Why, or why not?

Do you think the fact that John Proctor was a flawed man made him a stronger or weaker voice of protest against the corruption of the accusers?

Movie Details

• In theaters : January 25, 1996
• On DVD or streaming : June 1, 2004
• Cast : Daniel Day-Lewis , Winona Ryder , Joan Allen , Paul Scofield
• Director : Nicholas Hytner
• Inclusion Information : Female actors
• Studio : Twentieth Century Fox
• Genre : Drama
• Topics : History
• Run time : 124 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG-13
• MPAA explanation : for intense depiction of the Salem witch trials
• Last updated : January 26, 2023

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The Crucible Reviews

Raymond Rouleau’s French-East German coproduction should provide something of a revelation...

Full Review | Nov 30, 2023

Finally transformed into a chilling and expressive film by Nicholas Hytner, director of The Madness of King George, Miller's script remains a razor-sharp interrogation of religious dread, mob rule, and, most of all, sexual hysteria.

Full Review | Dec 27, 2022

The Crucible earned two Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress (Allen) and Best Adapted Screenplay (Miller), but it should have received many more, including one for Best Picture -- it's truly one of the great forgotten films of its era.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/4 | Apr 10, 2022

Perhaps understanding the distance that these fictional interpretations have created, The Crucible seems to invite a moral and emotional, rather then political reading.

Full Review | Dec 7, 2018

The miracle of Nicholas Hytner's rigorous, taut film arises from its ability to capture the high theatricality of its life in the theater.

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5 | Dec 5, 2018

A competent, uncontroversial, rather shouty version of a play which is now safely canonical and, if the philistinism may be forgiven, less remarkable than it once seemed, when dramas of the liberal conscience had an urgent edge.

Full Review | Dec 5, 2018

The clarity of the direction and the quality of the acting make it the best rendition of the author's work that any of us is likely to see either on screen or on stage.

Full Review | Mar 2, 2018

Plodding film based on play has mature themes, sex, violence

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Jan 26, 2016

Then there's always Mr. Scofield, bringing an almost unbearable, yet entirely believable, lightness of spirit to his loathsome character. It's a bold stroke by a great actor, making zealotry and evil seem positively beneficent.

Full Review | May 17, 2013

I recommend Hytner's movie highly, but a part of me resists a work that makes the audience feel as noble in our moral certainty as the characters it invites us to deplore. Some part of its power seems borrowed from the thing it hates.

Her cheeks flush, her winsome beauty seared with erotic rage, Ryder exposes the real roots of the piece. Forget McCarthyism; The Crucible is a colonial Fatal Attraction.

Too bad, though, that The Crucible fails to probe deeper into the sexual, religious, and political conditions that can give false accusations so much power -- even today.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | May 17, 2013

Arthur Miller's screenplay keeps everything nice and faithful to the period, and the actors have the dirt on their hands to prove it. The movie lacks polish as well, and that's to everyone's benefit.

A McCarthy-era retelling of the Salem witch trials, Arthur Miller's 1953 play is a literary classic, but this adap falls short.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | May 17, 2013

The story's sickening spiral into madness is preserved.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | May 17, 2013

An intelligent and gripping epic.

I very much admire how Hytner... keeps the pace swift and doesn't fetishize the 17th-century decors and clothes. But I can't help feeling that in more ways than one, The Crucible is a period piece.

What happened in long-ago Salem does still seem to matter.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | May 17, 2013

The story is unchanged, but its theme relates surprisingly well to today's versions of the bias and scapegoating that Miller rightly deplores.

The physical production of the film is so authentic and compelling, you can't get beyond it, not for a second.

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

The Crucible

A Salem resident attempts to frame her ex-lover's wife for being a witch in the middle of the 1692 witchcraft trials. A Salem resident attempts to frame her ex-lover's wife for being a witch in the middle of the 1692 witchcraft trials. A Salem resident attempts to frame her ex-lover's wife for being a witch in the middle of the 1692 witchcraft trials.

• Nicholas Hytner
• Arthur Miller
• Daniel Day-Lewis
• Winona Ryder
• Paul Scofield
• 151 User reviews
• 64 Critic reviews
• 75 Metascore
• 4 wins & 29 nominations total

• John Proctor

• Abigail Williams

• Judge Thomas Danforth

• Elizabeth Proctor

• Reverend Parris

• Reverend Hale

• Thomas Putnam

• Giles Corey

• Mary Warren

• Rebecca Nurse

• Judge Samuel Sewall

• Martha Corey

• Judge Hathorne

• Betty Parris

• Ruth Putnam

• Francis Nurse
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

More like this

Did you know

• Trivia Sir Daniel Day-Lewis met his wife Rebecca Miller , the daughter of Arthur Miller , while shooting the film.
• Goofs When John Proctor and Elizabeth are having their private conversation towards the end of the movie, his teeth look normal. However once they return to judge and Rev. Hale, his teeth look rotted and decayed. When he his hanged (the same day) his teeth are normal again.

John Proctor : Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them you have hanged! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!

• Connections Featured in Siskel & Ebert: 101 Dalmatians/Hype!/The Crucible/Palookaville/Ridicule (1996)
• Soundtracks The Yanvalou Chant Provided by Shakmah Winddrum

User reviews 151

• sugar_n_spice
• Sep 22, 2006
• How long is The Crucible? Powered by Alexa
• November 27, 1996 (United States)
• United States
• Las brujas de Salem
• House of Seven Gables, Salem, Massachusetts, USA
• Twentieth Century Fox
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• $25,000,000 (estimated)
• Dec 1, 1996

Technical specs

• Runtime 2 hours 4 minutes
• Dolby Digital

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The Crucible Review

01 Jan 1996

124 minutes

Crucible, The

The Salem witch trials have to a large degree, entered the Heritage Tourism arena, put down by many laypeople as a quirk of the past, thought of as a bizarre historical aberration that resulted in the hanging of 19 innocent people in a little Massachusetts town in 1692. What Arthur Miller did in the early 1950s with his play was to relentlessly pick away at the story in an attempt to get to its heart.

The facts, are simple, if astonishing. In the puritanical, superstitious world of 17th century America, several young girls, started behaving strangely, with some falling into unconsciousness. Baffled, the physicians concluded that Satan was to blame and the hunt for the witches who had possessed the girls began. Soon, the West Indian slave of the village pastor was forced into a confession, and suddenly petty jealousies erupted, vendettas were settled, and anyone whose behaviour didn't conform to the social and religious norm was accused.

Their defence? They had none. The only way to avoid the noose was to confess to being a witch and face utter estrangement, which many heroically refused to do. After nine months of terror, the trials were called to a halt and a kind of sanity returned.

Miller, who admits that the McCarthy witchhunts were the inspiration for his play, took the tough route in an age of black-and-white heroes and villains, and refused to simplify his characters. John Proctor (Day-Lewis), for instance, is the voice of reason in the village, but here is a central character who adulterates, beats women, and refuses to take responsibility for his actions. Likewise, Scofield's Judge Danforth, an individual more interested in the majesty of the law than in seeing justice done, is often seen as a misguided man of God, attempting to do what he feels is best.

After his success with The Madness Of King George, Hytner directs the stellar cast with great skill, and they do him proud, particularly Day-Lewis as the passionate but confused Proctor, Ryder as the scheming accuser Abigail and Joan Allen as the injured and upright Elizabeth Proctor. The absolute standout, though, is Scofield, whose performance is, yes really, worth the admission price alone, a mesmerising, dark presence throughout the film.

If there is a criticism it is that by opening the play out into a movie, all the original sense of buttoned-down claustrophobia is lost. What happened in Salem was a combination of selfishness, hysteria and pig ignorance, but at its core were a group of young women sent almost literally insane by the repressed piety of the Puritan community which denied them any pleasures, including simply dancing. In the play, this comes over loud and clear.

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The Crucible

By Peter Travers

Peter Travers

Confess it! you’re really dreading seeing The Crucible , fearing a high-minded thesis of numbing good intentions. Arthur Miller’s 1953 play about the witch trials in Salem, Mass, circa 1692, is freighted with enough background history to require a catch-up quiz.

True or false:

(1) Miller’s play parallels the Red-baiting hysteria of the 1950s, when the House Un-American Activities Committee, run by a rabid Senator Joe McCarthy, equated communism with satanism. (True.)

(2) Miller was cited for contempt when he refused to betray friends in the Communist Party by naming names or to urge his wife, Marilyn Monroe, to submit to a photo op with the HUAC chief. (True.)

(3) Current parallels to witch hunts include religious fundamentalism, political correctness, accusations of child abuse at day-care centers and the demonizing of race, abortion, AIDS and rock. (True.)

(4) You need to know all these things to understand and appreciate The Crucible. (False.)

Miller is the first to admit that the tale must stand on its own. The playwright, now 81, sat near me at a screening of The Crucible , unwittingly intimidating all around him. For the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Death of a Salesman , attention must be paid. Miller asked for none of it. He talked with boyish zest of working with director Nicholas Hytner on re-crafting The Crucible as a $25 million film that would allow startling imagery to resonate with his language and burst the bounds of the stage.

Does it ever. The Crucible, despite some damaging cuts to the text, is a seductively exciting film that crackles with visual energy, passionate provocation and incendiary acting. The mood is electric from the first scene, when 15 sex-starved teenage girls gather in the Salem forest at night to work out their Puritan repression. Tituba (Charlayne Woodard), a slave from Barbados, has organized a conjuring around a boiling kettle. The girls, boiling with lust, shout the names of boys they desire. Some tear off their clothes and dance naked. Not Betty (Rachael Bella), the daughter of Rev. Parris (Bruce Davison), who recoils as her 17-year-old cousin Abigail (Winona Ryder) bashes a rooster against the kettle and drinks its blood as a charm to kill Elizabeth (Joan Allen), the scolding, sickly wife of farmer John Proctor (Daniel Day-Lewis). Abigail had worked for the couple and their two sons until Elizabeth discovered John’s adultery with Abigail and fired her for being a whore.

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This “witching” — a child’s fatal attraction misread as devil worship — is talked about but never dramatized in Miller’s play. Onscreen, Miller’s words are made flesh. Guilt over being caught drives the girls into a frenzy of false accusations. The devil made them do it. Abigail conveniently cites Elizabeth Proctor for witchcraft. The others pick up on the trick, naming anyone they ever resented until 19 are sentenced to hang by Judge Danforth (Paul Scofield), a deputy governor as avid to make his reputation as McCarthy was.

Miller’s screenplay is a model of adventurous film adaptation, showing a master eager to mine his most-performed play for fresh insights instead of embalming it. Hytner, the British theater wiz who made an auspicious 1994 film debut with The Madness of King George, directs with a keen eye. Shooting on Hog Island, Mass., a wildlife sanctuary off the coast, allows Hytner to catch raw nature — the hysterical girls rush into the sea, claiming an evil yellow bird is chasing them from court — and spur the actors to interpretive risks.

Ryder finds the lost child in Abigail, who is usually played as a calculating Lolita. Before unleashing her rage, Abigail presses her face to John’s and grabs his crotch. Though he rejects her now, John was once the carnal aggressor. “And now you bid me go dead to all you taught me?” says Abigail, for whom sex is just the short route to a soft word. John, for all his late-blooming principles, has corrupted her youth. Ryder offers a transfixing portrait of warped innocence.

The great Scofield is triumphant, avoiding the easy caricature of Danforth as a fanatic. He brings the role something new: wit. We laugh with this judge, which heightens the horror later when he blinds himself to truth in the name of God and his own ambition. The scene in which he ignores Rev. Hale (Rob Campbell), who knows the girls are faking, and bullies the servant Mary Warren (Karron Graves) into delusion and madness chills the blood.

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As the unforgiving wife whose “justice would freeze beer,” in the words of her husband, Allen is an absolute stunner in an award-caliber performance that is also a surprising source of warmth. By the seashore, where the pregnant Elizabeth has come to say goodbye to her condemned husband, she tells John, “I once counted myself so plain, so poorly made, that no honest love could come to me.” Elizabeth’s scene of tender reconciliation is the film’s moral core. John need only sign a false confession of witchcraft to save himself from the gallows. Of course, he won’t. “Because it is my name,” he tells Danforth simply. “Because I cannot have another in my life.”

In the film’s most complex role, Day-Lewis performs with quiet power. Playing nobility can make actors insufferable, but Day-Lewis keeps John Proctor human even when saddled with smudgy makeup and fake brown teeth for his final scene. The Crucible , for all its timely denunciation of persecution masked as piety — take that, Christian right! — comes down to individual resistance and how you search your heart to find it. The years haven’t softened the rage against self-betrayal in The Crucible. This stirring film lets you feel the heat of Miller’s argument and the urgent power of his kick.

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The Crucible Film Review: A Dark and Gripping Period Drama

The crucible  film review (1996).

I’ve always been interested in the Salem Witch Trials. For one thing, my family is from New England. My mom used to go sledding on Gallows Hill in Salem when she was a little girl. I also find it fascinating that people turned against their friends so quickly. What could have caused this? Naturally, I was very excited to watch  The Crucible,  starring Winona Ryder as Abigail Williams, Daniel Day-Lewis as John Proctor, and Joan Allen as Elizabeth Proctor. Based on the 1935 play by Arthur Miller, the film did not disappoint.

The film opens with the young ladies of the strictly Puritan Salem dancing and practicing magic with Tituba, a slave from the West Indies who practices voodoo. When the girls begin to use the magic to ask for a husband, we learn that Abigail Williams had an affair with the married John Proctor before his wife sent her away. She is still in love with him and wants him back. Abigail goes so far as to drink blood to make the spell more powerful.

When the girls are discovered, they pretend to be under a spell. Offering to help catch the witches, the girls take advantage of their power to remove those they do not care for, and the rest of Salem follows them in this witch hunt. This leads to mass hysteria, imprisonment, and death.

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Several people notice that most of the witches are people who have offended the accuser or have something that the accuser wants, but no one will listen. Soon, however, even the most die-hard witch hunters have to admit that something is fishy in Salem as the people become gripped by fear.

While the hunt continues, John Proctor and his wife Elizabeth are struggling to repair their marriage after John’s affair. But as the film continues, it becomes clear that Abigail is not moving on. In a desperate attempt to get John back, Abigail accuses his wife of witchcraft. Things quickly pass the point of no return and have soon gone out of anyone’s control, even Abigail’s. Students of history will know who dies before watching The Crucible , but the story is still wonderfully crafted and unfolds at the perfect speed.

Arthur Miller based the story on the historical events in Salem, as well as his own experiences in America during the Cold War, dealing with mass hysteria. The story was a study in fear and how it influences a large group of people, as Miller noticed similarities in the two events.

Like in history, there are no supernatural forces involved in The Crucible.  The characters are all real people.  John Proctor and Abigail Williams probably did have an affair. At two hours long, this movie was the perfect length for this story. The Crucible  knows when to show the audience events and when to imply that things are happening.  This keeps the story fresh and the audience engaged.

The Crucible  is a beautiful film. The set design is amazing, and the backgrounds add to the story in a subtle way. The acting is also incredible. Daniel Day-Lewis is compelling as John Proctor, while Joan Allen adds depth and warmth to the seemingly cold Elizabeth. However, Winona Ryder’s Abigail Williams steals the show. I could not decide if I hated her or wanted to give her a hug, and that, I think, is part of her appeal as a character. Her tragic backstory and her truly twisted motivations make Abigail a character that is both delightfully conniving and surprisingly sympathetic. 

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If you are interested in history, the Salem Witch Trials, stories about revenge, or dark period dramas, I would recommend giving  The Crucible  a watch. Although there is no happy ending, the acting is incredible, and the story is realistic. As I watched, I was unable to forget that The Crucible  is based on something that really happened. I count this as a good thing, personally.

CONTENT WARNING There is a brief scene with nudity in the beginning when the girls are dancing in the woods. There is also a scene where Abigail drinks blood, and there are several on-screen deaths.

Photos: Twentieth Century Fox

OVERALL RATING

“You had me at hello.”

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Bailey grew up in North Idaho where she was encouraged from a young age to love reading, writing and learning; as a result, storytelling is a major part of her life. She believes that no story is ever the same to anyone and that everyone has a story to tell. With that in mind, she someday hopes to write a humorous and inspiring book (or ten, either way). Her books, "A Journey Through Disney," "The Mermaid," and "Dear NSA: One Man's Adventures in Phone-Tapping and Blogging," can be found on Amazon.

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The New York Times

The learning network | teaching ‘the crucible’ with the new york times.

Teaching ‘The Crucible’ With The New York Times

Though often considered second best to his “Death of a Salesman” and opening to lukewarm , if not downright hostile, reviews, Arthur Miller’s play “The Crucible” continues to be mounted and taught worldwide because it speaks to universal fears of social isolation and the unknown – fears especially present in a rapidly changing world, not to mention in the topsy-turvy social order of school.

Considering the myriad productions and cross-cultural power of “The Crucible,” Miller wrote :

I have wondered if one of the reasons the play continues like this is its symbolic unleashing of the specter of order’s fragility. When certainties evaporate with each dawn, the unknowable is always around the corner. We know how much depends on mere trust and good faith and a certain respect for the human person, and how easily breached these are. And we know as well how close to the edge we live and how weak we really are and how quickly swept by fear the mass of us can become when our panic button is pushed. It is also, I suppose, that the play reaffirms the ultimate power of courage and clarity of mind whose ultimate fruit is liberty.

What is “The Crucible” telling audiences now? How have fears about terrorism created modern-day “witches”? What is it about human nature that makes such hysteria possible? How and why does John Proctor embody the American tragic hero? What does it take to do the right thing? Why is doing the right thing so often the hardest thing? What is the true meaning of integrity?

These questions and Mr. Miller’s story of how fear and suspicion up-end 17th-century Salem continue to fascinate readers and audiences. Use the following New York Times resources to explore the play with your students and make connections to life and the world. And for more resources like this for other often-taught works, visit our “10 Ways to Use The New York Times for Teaching Literature.”

Resources from The New York Times

From the Archives:

• The Crucible Original 1953 review.
• “The Crucible”: Arthur Miller’s Dramatization of the Salem Witch Trial in 1692 A followup review (1953).
• Journey to “The Crucible” Arthur Miller’s reflection on his conception of the play (1953).
• Brewed in “The Crucible”; Author Cites Reasons For Having Written Play in 1953 Essay in which Arthur Miller gives his reasons for writing the play (1958).

Recent Articles:

• Room for Debate: Barack Obama and the Psychology of the Birther Myth Discussion of the “birther” myth, recognizing echoes of McCarthyism (2011).
• The Tucson Witch Hunt Column by Charles M. Blow on the “full-fledged witch hunt to link the shooter to the right” in the aftermath of the attempted assassination of Representative Gabrielle Giffords, with references to “The Crucible” (2011).
• City Room: A New Look at an Old Quarrel Over “Waterfront” Post investigating the question of whether Elia Kazan and Budd Schulberg made the classic 1954 film “On the Waterfront” to justify their naming former Communist associates.
• Opinionator: No End to the New McCarthyism? A call for the “blacklisting” of the term “McCarthyism” (2009).
• When Suspicion of Teachers Ran Unchecked Article on the blacklisting of public school teachers in New York City (2009).
• Extended Forecast: Bloodshed Op-ed discussing the relationship between climate change and witch hunts (2008).
• In Small Town, “Grease” Ignites a Culture War Article about a Missouri high school drama group banned from performing “The Crucible” (2006).

On the Play:

• Again They Drink From the Cup of Suspicion Essay in which Miller discusses the origins and nature of his drama (1989).
• Relearning the Lessons of Miller’s “The Crucible” Review of a 1990 revival and a comment about the lasting power of the lessons of Miller’s play (1990).
• Attention Must be Paid Opinion piece by playwright David Mamet considering “The Crucible” the great “American political tragedy” (2005).
• Movie Review: The Crucible (1996) Review of the 1996 film version of the play starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Winona Ryder (1996). Includes a clip.
• The Betwitching Power of Lies Another review of the film version (1996).
• The Demons of Salem, With Us Still Article on the journey from play to film (1996).
• Forging an Opera From Miller’s “Crucible” Article about an early opera adaption of the play (1961).

On Arthur Miller:

• Special Section: Arthur Miller
• Arthur Miller, Moral Voice of American Stage, Dies at 89 2005 obituary.
• Tribute to a Man of the Crucible Tribute to Arthur Miller on his 80th birthday (1995).
• Arthur Miller: Present at the Birth of a Salesman Article on the cultural impact of “Death of a Salesman,” with background on Miller (1999).
• Arthur Miller: View of a Life Interview with Arthur Miller (1984).

On McCarthyism, The Red Scare, and Paranoia:

• On Naming the Names, in Life and Art Article exploring “The Crucible” as an allegory and discussing the relationship between McCarthyism, Miller and Kazan (1997).
• To Name or Not to Name: The Hollywood Ten Recalled Archival article on the Hollywood Ten (1973).
• What Is a Communist? How Can You Spot Him? Archival article on the Red Scare (1948).

On the Salem Witch Trials:

• They Called It Witchcraft Opinion piece examining the witch trails as an attempt to make sense of the unknown (2002).
• Massachusetts Clears 5 From Salem Witch Trials Article on the exoneration of five women hanged as witches three hundred years ago (2001).
• Working to Clear Ancestor’s Name, 300 Years After Her Execution Article on the descendant of a “witch” convicted in 1662 (2007).
• Before Tripp, a Long Line of Denouncers; From the Salem Witch Trials to Serpico to the War on Drugs Essay putting the action of Linda Tripp in the historical context of the citizen denouncer (1999).
• Op-Ed: Salem Revisited Op-Ed in which Arthur Miller considers the similarities and differences between the impeachment of Bill Clinton and the Salem Witch Trials (1998).
• Salem Remembers, 300 Years Later Travel feature on Salem, Massachusetts, as it marked the tercentenary of the witch trials (1992).

Other Related:

• Censorship in the Age of Anything Goes; For Artistic Freedom, It’s Not the Worst of Times Article examining censorship in Hollywood from the film code to McCarthy to today (1998).
• Childhood Trauma: Memory or Invention? Science article on the role of memory in childhood trauma and the sorts of accusations that rocked Salem (1992).
• The Science Police Article on a book on the Baltimore case, which echoes the whistle-blowing and witch hunts of the McCarthy era (1998).
• Witch Hunt in the Navy Opinion piece on the Tailhook scandal and its effects throughout the Navy (1992).

Related Lesson Plans

Lessons About Drama, Literature and Arthur Miller:

• What a Character! Comparing Literary Adaptations
• Good Intentions: Taking a Cognitive Approach to Literature and Stories
• No More Moldy Oldies: Appreciating Classic Texts
• Casting Doubt
• Behind the Cover
• Life of a Stage Man

Lessons About the Legal System:

• In Any Case: Conducting a Mock Trial
• How to Save a Life?
• Trials and Tribulations
• Can I Get a Witness

Lessons About Relevant Historical Events:

• Follow the Marx
• After the Fact
• The Renewed Glory of Old Glory

Other Learning Network Resources:

• Teaching Topics: Great Literature
• 10 Ways to Celebrate Banned Books Week
• 10 Ways to Use The New York Times for Teaching Literature
• Resources on Bullying and Cyberbullying
• Film in the Classroom
• 10 Ways to Use NYTimes.com for Research
• Student Crossword: The Pilgrims
• Student Crossword: The 1950s

Times Topics:

• Arthur Miller
• Books and Literature
• Joseph R. McCarthy

Comments are no longer being accepted.

Thanks for this post, as I am teaching the play right now after not teaching it for nearly 10 years. I used to have a much harder time coming up with a meaningful analogy of a modern-day witch hunt students could relate to (as “communist” no longer carries the same taint). Creating that analogy today is considerably easier, as the bogeymen we now fear are the terrorists. I played “Duck and Cover” for students (search YouTube for that one, teachers) and while my class partially found it ridiculous, they also easily recognized the parallels to America’s fears today. Revisiting the play has made me realize that it is, sadly, much more relevant today than in recent history past.

The fact that the Crucible is not a 100% historically accurate is not news to me; Arthur Miller himself stated that it was not meant to be a factual history lesson. I found some great resources on Shmoop that I read right after I read the Crucible : an essay on the factual difference between Miller’s play and actual events, the official court records from the Salem Witch Trials, as well as several other videos and links. I shared these withy my students and found that agree with me when I say that despite the discrepancies, these resources bring Arthur Miller’s work to life rather than detracting from it.

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The Crucible On Screen Review: Epic, Emotional and Utterly Compelling

An unforgettable production that stirs to the very core.

Play: The Crucible Author: Arthur Miller Venue: The Old Vic, London Stage Director: Yaël Farber Film Director: Robert Delamere Cast: Richard Armitage, Anna Madeley, Samantha Colley, Adrian Schiller, Natalie Gavin, Michael Thomas, Jack Ellis, William Gaunt, Sarah Niles Running time: 3hrs 30mins

This stirring and unsettling production of one of Arthur Miller’s most prominent plays is directed by acclaimed playwright and director Yaël Farber, who over the years has won numerous national and international awards for her work and it’s not hard to see why. The production was staged earlier this year at The Old Vic in London, which performed to sold out audiences over a 12 week run, garnering the attention of critics around the world and it deservingly racked up 5 star reviews.

The Crucible was staged in-the-round and one may make think it could make it all the more difficult to capture the emotions, gestures and key moments of the play, but this was not the case in this production. Delamere leaves no stone unturned and every shot is a golden moment, even down to the wide camera angles where we see the expanded, fraught eyes of the audience who are being pulled deeply into this dark play, literally and metaphorically.

The extraordinary production created under the watchful eye and guidance of Farber beautifully preserves the integrity of Miller’s language and provides gripping action and immersion in a foreboding story of witchcraft, lust and superstition set in a small Puritan community in Salem, Massachusetts, where people are living in a suffocating world of gossip, hearsay and personal grievances. In the midst of the infamous Salem witch trials, paranoia and superstition is at an all-time high, fuelling mass hysteria in the town as false accusations of witchcraft fly.

Panic and fear set the tone in the first-act in Reverend Parris’s bedroom, as members of the community accusingly eyeball each other and are quick to denounce their neighbours as witches in frenzied suspicion.  At the centre of the drama is John Proctor ( Richard Armitage ) who has had regrettable relations with ex-lover, 17-year-old Abigail ( Samantha Colley ). He now finds that his brief encounter with her has come back to haunt him and with devastating repercussions for himself, his wronged wife ( Anna Madeley ) and the rest of the community in Salem.

The portrayal of the young girls of Salem is enticing, hypnotic and at times almost unbearably haunting as their eyes roll, their heads sway backwards and forwards with dramatic rigour and their screams pierce the toughest of eardrums. Samantha Colley as the young Abigail Williams stands out amongst a solid, young cast and her cold and calculated persona is effortlessly displayed. 

Farber’s dramatic rendering of the Salem witch hunts are a stunning examination of repression, hysteria, betrayal and guilt all shown in a united, complicated coherence. The staging of the production is dark largely throughout, which is perfectly entwining with the mood and as only a few lights glimmer at any given moment the audience feel as though they are indeed sat around a bubbling cauldron waiting for the predictable horrors to come out of the smoke. The bleakness of the subject matter is most definitely reflected in the lighting, which has not been lost on camera. The poignant staging is aptly combined with the eerie and effective music of Richard Hammarton. It’s   atmospheric in flavour, but does not deter the attention away from the story.

The Crucible rapidly whisks the audience through it’s 3 hours and 30 minutes on stage and even the on screen play includes a 15-minute interval – and the audience certainly need it. Act II ends on a dark and sombre note and things continue to spiral even more tragically out of control in Act III and it is something which viewers certainly need to prepare themselves for.

Digital Theatre beautifully captures the dramatic tension and depression in Act III as the powers that be wish to vilify John Proctor. Throughout the performance the acting is extraordinary, but it is in the final act that we witness the cast offer more than is humanly possible. 

Anna Madeley is excellent as Proctor’s betrayed accusatory wife, who through her experiences has become almost stone-like in emotion. Jack Ellis  is equally enthralling as the ferocious, stubborn judge leading the corruption of the court, whilst Adrian Schiller’s  cleric is the sane, voice of reason that is ignored within this ravaged community hellbent on persecution.   

Then of course there is Richard Armitage who completely embodies his role as John Proctor both mentally, emotionally and physically, as we watch the once strong man physically shrink in front of our eyes into a blundering, broken individual. A transformation which is harrowing, unjust and calamitous. Looking completely spent, we watch as Armitage’s Proctor fights against the sense that he has been irrevocably tainted by his affair with Abigail and all the lies and deceit flying around Salem. His outcome is soaringly heroic and terribly tragic, as he needs to feel capable of honourable sacrifice instead of signing a false confession.

In one of the most heart-rending scenes, sniffles around the cinema could be heard (as they were at The Old Vic performance I attended), as Armitage delivers perhaps the most memorable words from the irredeemable Proctor,who refuses to give away his final piece of self-worth: his name. “Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! I have given you my soul; leave me my name!”

There are not enough superlatives worthy enough to even begin to describe how Armitage delivers the performance of a lifetime and his final scene with Anna Madeley is as exquisite as it is tragic. In fact, each cast member delivered stunning performances and as a whole they certainly brought out the best in each other to produce stellar deliveries of the most highest standards.

The emotions and toil the cast put themselves through each day throughout the production is immense and certainly appreciated by the audience. Never I have attended a screening of a theatre performance in a cinema where the whole room was silently up on their feet quick to applaud what they have seen, accompanied by muffled sniffles and stilted whimpers, such is the effect this production has on the viewer – and thankfully not just me.

Farber’s thoughtful fingerprints were everywhere and essential for the success of the play. Now taken onto the big screen and with the possibility of downloading the performance in the future, the production is now ensured to be a beautiful, everlasting tribute to one of the great playwrights of our time through the emergence of theatre and film.

It is simply an unforgettable production which is stirring right through to the very core. It is utterly deserving of its six nominations in the impending WhatsOnStage Awards .  

The Crucible is an achievement that all involved should be proud of until the end of their days, as this production will certainly remain with me until the end of mine.

The Old Vic’s The Crucible will be screened in select cinemas in Germany, Austria, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Finland, Malta, Australia and New Zealand in February 2015 with further locations yet to be added.

Visit  www.thecrucibleonscreen.com  for further info.

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‘The Crucible’ Review: A Soggy London Revival of Miller’s Masterpiece

By David Benedict

David Benedict

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There is an opera of “ The Crucible .” Written by Robert Ward, it won the 1962 Pulitzer Prize. But this is not the opera… or is it? Lyndsey Turner’s grandiloquent National Theatre production of Arthur Miller ’s imperishable 1953 classic is so overloaded with singing from the opening period-style choral folk song to a final major-key angelic chorus — not to mention a permanently portentous soundscape — that you could be forgiven for mistaking it for the opera. While some 69-year-old plays need dramaturgical assistance to be successfully revived, this is not one of them.

There are also text changes, with Turner adding an expository prelude and a coda from Miller’s writings about the play, in which the before and after is announced to the audience in a tone of high seriousness. The opening address is an immediate indication that the production doesn’t trust the text itself to do its dramatic work.

Although this political thriller was written in response to America’s mid-20th-century fever of McCarthyite witch hunts and the naming of names, there has, on either side of the Atlantic, never been a time when the play was not “relevant.”

Much of that stems from a lack of pacing. Miller’s handling of the manipulative lies of angry, spurned adolescent Abigail Williams (a suitably staunch and febrile Erin Doherty) — who stokes terror, harnesses resentments and ushers in the hanging of innocent townsfolk — is masterly. His tale features what should be engrossing and unceasing turns of the screw. But outside the obvious plot climaxes of the girls’ hysteria or the entrapment of individuals in the trial scenes, the production turns stealthy, enthralling writing into unvarying scenes that feel shouty, wordy and long.

Much of that is the result of the perma-doom soundtrack: constant, insistent underscoring and humming from the actors. By telling the audience what to think — “listen up: something terrible is about to happen” — the music relegates the dialogue to further accompaniment and flattens the drama.

It’s also down to Turner’s direction of the actors, too many of whom have been encouraged to overstate themselves from their first entrance. But by fatally playing the end of their dramatic trajectory at the very beginning, their character and motives are too immediately obvious. This leaves audiences with almost nothing to discern and disengages them from the moment-by-moment drama. That distancing is further extended by disconnected performances, including from the highly experienced Matthew Marsh, who relies upon a carefully over-precise delivery as Judge Danforth, channeling Kelsey Grammar’s Frasier Crane and thus merely coming across as a one-note version of self-deluded.

There are exceptions. As Mary Warren, who almost succeeds in escaping Abigail’s power and tries to tell the truth, Rachelle Diedericks puffs herself up nicely with power and, unlike a bewilderingly high percentage of the cast, her accent work is consistent.

Tim Lutkin’s fierce side lighting scalds the actors and allows them to be beautifully etched against enveloping darkness. His work has an arresting precision and depth that is woefully absent elsewhere. Even the central relationship between John and Elizabeth Proctor lacks traction because although Eileen Walsh is nicely pinched and tired as Elizabeth, Brendan Cowell’s John is too physically and vocally shambling. It’s a characterful performance but too generalized to allow crucial moments to land, not least his climactic, play-defining cry: “How may I live without my name?”

Karl Johnson is winning as the argumentative, honorable, elderly Giles Corey, who goes to his death for refusing to bow to the court’s double-think. He dies by being pressed with stones, his only words being “more weight.” Ironically, this entirely self-conscious production’s attempt to add more weight is what stifles the play. 

National Theatre, Olivier, London; 1,029 seats; £89 ($98) top. Opened, reviewed, Sept. 28, 2022. Running time: 2 HOURS, 50 MIN.

• Production: A National Theatre presentation of a play in two acts by Arthur Miller.
• Crew: Directed by Lyndsey Turner. Sets, Es Devlin; costumes, Catherine Fay; lighting, Tim Lutkin;  sound, Tingying Dong and Paul Arditti; music, Caroline Shaw; music director, Osnat Schmool.
• Cast: Brendan Cowell, Erin Doherty, Eileen Walsh, David Ahmad, Fisayo Akinade, Zoë Aldrich, Nathan Amzi, Stephanie Beattie, Sophia Brown Raphael Bushay, Anushka Chakravarti, Rachelle Diedericks, Henry Everett, Nick Fletcher, Colin Haigh, Karl Johnson, Gracie McGonigal, Matthew Marsh, Alistair Parker, Tilly Tremayne. Halle Brown, Grace Cooper Milton, Hero Douglas, Aoife Haakenson, Martin Johnston, Betty Paris, Joy Tan, Ami Tredrea.

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The Crucible (1996) by Nicholas Hytner Essay (Movie Review)

The Crucible, set in a theocratic society, is a 1996 film, based on Arthur Miller’s play of the same name and it features high-profile stars like Daniel Day-Lewis (John Proctor) and Winnona Ryder (Abigail Williams), and the impressive Paul Scofield (John Danforth) and Joan Allen (Elizabeth Proctor) in supporting roles.

The film’s writer himself, Arthur Miller, does the screenplay while Nicholas Hytner is the director. Most scenes in the movie were filmed on Choate Island in Essex, Massachusetts, and they represent the events that took place in the Salem during the seventeenth century. The occurrences portrayed in the film have recurred with astonishing inescapability all through the history of humankind.

The film and the play versions of The Crucible have many parallels. The 1953 play was written during the House Committee on Un-American Activities investigations. During the investigations, Miller was summoned to give his testimony in 1956.

And, even though the play can be considered as an historical allegory for the events that took place during this era, its true worth is found in its capability to be re-construed so that it can fit in any era.

Undeniably, the play’s rich themes, such as intolerance, thirst for power, the need to be accountable for our actions, public and private moralities, and the role that hysteria can play in tearing apart a community, are universal in scope.

Although Miller has never consented to the historical accuracy of the story, most of the events in the story match up with the occurrences in Salem, Massachusetts during the seventeenth century. During that time, superstition was rampant in Puritan town and about nineteen villagers were hanged as witches, four died in prison, and one was tortured to death for refusing to answer questions.

It was a period, similar to that in the U.S. in the mid-twentieth century, when a simple allegation could conceal ones fate. In addition, justice was regarded as secondary to saving a life during that era in America.

The film opens with an astonishing depiction of the event that set all the trials in motion. A number of Salem village girls gather in the woods where they chant and dance, wishing for men that they love to fall in love with. However, the arrival of the local preacher Reverend Parris (Bruce Davison) spoils the party.

Two of the girls subsequently fall into coma-like states. This makes everyone to start suspecting witchcraft as the cause of the misfortune. In order to save themselves from the noose since they confessed to performing witchcraft, the girls plead for their lives. Soon, the girls face trials in which the condemned are arrested. On the other hand, the innocent who do not confess are hanged.

The film that runs for one hundred and twenty-four minutes is rated PG-13 because of the intense portrayal of the Salem Witch Trials. The film is due to the outstanding recreation of the play for the screen. Unquestionably, the storytelling is top-quality, the visual style is perfect, and it is a powerful, thought-provoking production.

All through the film, the atmosphere is maintained. This serves the purpose of creating some original suspense. The crucible is considered as one of the best movies from 1996 and its classic re-interpretation assures us that it will become a component of the film history.

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IvyPanda. (2022, June 15). The Crucible (1996) by Nicholas Hytner. https://ivypanda.com/essays/movie-review-the-crucible/

"The Crucible (1996) by Nicholas Hytner." IvyPanda , 15 June 2022, ivypanda.com/essays/movie-review-the-crucible/.

IvyPanda . (2022) 'The Crucible (1996) by Nicholas Hytner'. 15 June.

IvyPanda . 2022. "The Crucible (1996) by Nicholas Hytner." June 15, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/movie-review-the-crucible/.

1. IvyPanda . "The Crucible (1996) by Nicholas Hytner." June 15, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/movie-review-the-crucible/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "The Crucible (1996) by Nicholas Hytner." June 15, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/movie-review-the-crucible/.

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This Town review – there is no point in resisting this bold, brilliant TV show

Steven Knight’s six-parter about the formation of an 80s new wave band is intelligent, ambitious and anarchic. But be warned: it can feel oppressive at first

I don’t know about you, but whenever I hear about a film or drama series about a band getting together, the spirit quails within. I prepare for “Let’s put the show on right here!” vibes and the equivalent of poor Billy Zane’s line in Titanic – “Something Picasso? He won’t amount to a thing!” So it is with a heavy heart that I approach This Town, the new offering from Steven Knight (of Peaky Blinders fame). It’s about the formation of an 80s new wave band, influenced by the preceding popularity of ska, reggae, two tone and punk, with the tracks the characters write created by record producer and songwriter Dan Carey and poet Kae Tempest. I am exhausted before it even starts.

Which just goes to show how very stupid one should try not to be. This Town is an ingenious piece of work, with such intelligence, ambition and heart – shot through with a borderline anarchic spirit – that it can and should overcome all resistance. It does take a bit of getting used to, as anything innovative will. There is – and there’s no easy way to say this – a lot of poetry going on, especially in voiceover, especially at the beginning, and the opening couple of episodes occasionally feel a bit oppressive. But it is compelling from the off, and certainly by episode three it has found the confidence to open up a bit, take a breath and even admit a few welcome comic moments as the tensions among the characters mount, the stakes rise and consequences build towards potential catastrophe.

At the centre of the piece is Birmingham college student and nascent poet Dante (Levi Brown). He doesn’t, when we first meet him, drink, smoke cigarettes or dope, or dance. He is heartbroken by the girl he fancies, Fiona (Freya Parks), refusing to go for a cup of tea with him. He is a gentle, gently odd soul. Or, as his friend Jeannie (Eve Austin) puts it, “A weird fucker.” She is very fond of him. She writes music but can’t do words. He can do words but not music. We brace ourselves for things to turn Rooney-Garlandwards immediately, but instead we get the story of an extended family – loving, beset by demons, embroiled with the IRA, broken, defiant – and the band’s an offshoot of that. It’s an examination of art as an escape, of suffering and despair as a crucible in which talent can become genius.

Dante’s cousin Bardon (Ben Rose) lives in Coventry with his bullying father, Eamonn, who is heavily involved with the local IRA “battalion” and pressurising his wholly unwilling son into greater involvement with the movement. Through them and Bardon’s mother, Estella (Michelle Dockery), and grandmother Marie (Geraldine James), we get a rare intimate portrait of the effects of living under the rule of a terrorist organisation. Fear is everywhere. Normal life cannot proceed. The damage runs impossibly far and impossibly deep. At one point, Bardon makes a break for London, but he is more trapped that he ever realised.

There is also Dante’s older brother Gregory (Jordan Bolger), who complicates things substantially by being a member of the British army stationed in Belfast. He is everything Dante is not – a hard man, known and respected for it – but who got out of a life of crime and into the forces just before it swallowed him whole. A family funeral surveilled by special branch puts him in a terrible position, brings him back to the Midlands and provides the narrative torque for much of the latter half of the six-episode run.

Almost as an afterthought, but one whose impact is out of all proportion to his screen time, is Gregory’s old boss. Gangster Robbie Carmen is setting up a new music venue – purely as a front for selling drugs – and is looking to recruit both a security team and new acts. Carmen is played by a truly terrifying David Dawson, especially in what I am going to call the finger scene – the first thing I have ever seen on television that made me retch unstoppably.

The performances are all excellent but Brown as Dante, in his first lead role, is extraordinary. You seldom find a character credibly written as odd because they have to have a makeup all of their own, but to have an actor able to portray it as nimbly, to keep it as weird yet human as Brown does is rarer still. But everyone is digging deep and bringing out of Knight’s bold, brilliant work all the profound heartbreak and wisdom that lies in it too.

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