Monday, January 18, 2016

Salem Witch Trials (2002)

Director: Joseph Sargent                                 Writer: Maria Nation
Film Score: Jonathan Goldsmith                      Cinematography: Pierre Gill
Starring: Kirstie Alley, Jay O. Sanders, Rebecca De Mornay and Gloria Reuben

This is an interesting look at one of the signature moments in U.S. History. Produced just a few years after Arthur Miller was able to film The Crucible, his dramatic take on the event, CBS launched their own version as a two-part mini-series based on the historical record. Salem Witch Trials uses some B-list actors along with well-known names like Kirstie Alley, Rebecca De Mornay, and Gloria Reuben, and the venerable Peter Ustinov and Shirley MacLaine in supporting roles to give their story of colonial Massachusetts drawing power with television audiences. The film was written by Maria Nation, who had a strong background in writing for television, and the novelization of the screenplay was done by Kathryn Wesley. One of the smart decisions she makes is to stay away from the story of John Proctor and Abigail Williams, which Miller focused on in his play. Instead she takes as her viewpoint characters of the minister of Salem Village, Samuel Parris, and the much-aggrieved Thomas Putnam, to look at their part in creating and perpetuating the fear of witchcraft to further their own personal goals, through their implicit control over the girls--both of them had daughters--who cried out members of the community as followers of Satan.

Part One of the mini-series begins in Salem Village in 1692 in the middle of the delusion, with children crying out in church and naming members of the church as witches. They are led by Katie Boland as the daughter of the Putnams, a wealthy family who had very little land. The narrative then flashes back ten months to a night time fire that burns down the barn of one of the villagers, and the stillborn death of Mrs. Putnam’s child. Kirstie Alley plays Mrs. Putnam and Jay O. Sanders her husband. While Alley becomes more and more convinced that the Devil is responsible for this, the third of her children lost, Sanders is intent on using this belief to rid the village of some of his enemies and get their land in the process. Meanwhile Boland falls increasingly under the sway of the religious fervor exhibited by the town’s minister, Henry Czerny. When Alley gets no satisfaction from Czerny as to the reason her babies are dying, she seeks the comfort of the village witch, Shannon Lawson. But Boland is watching. And when Boland sees the affection her father gives to their dog, she begins barking like one herself. In meantime Sanders’ step-brother Zachary Bennett, who owns most of the Putnam land, has decided to marry the daughter of Sanders’ enemy, Colin Fox, who has thrived as the owner of the port while Sanders has only seen his role in Salem diminish. It’s then that Sanders demands that Czerny use his power of the pulpit to pay him back for hiring him.

Part Two opens on the prison, with Tituba and three other women who have been arrested. Tituba, on pain of a personal death threat by Parris, confessed in open court--still the church sanctuary at that point. The problem is, the church has no legal authority to arrest the women. It’s not until a new royal governor is appointed that judge Peter Ustinov is mandated with overseeing the prosecution and hangings of the accused. In addition to the girls, who were either deluded by their religious training or in the thrall of a toxin, according to scientist Lindda Caporael in a PBS documentary The Witches Curse, Kirstie Alley as Anne Putnam, as well as Kristin Booth, both exhibit psychotic behavior, and men in the village have erotic hallucinations that convinced them they are being bewitched. It’s not until Shirley MacLaine as Rebecca Nurse, one of the stalwarts of the village, is condemned that those in jail realize they have no chance at all of being saved other than their own false confessions . . . a lie that Puritans have been trained not to give. One of the best moments of the film is when the Kristin Booth confronts Henry Czerny with the truth: that as minister of Salem and the head of the witch-hunts, he is the most evil man in Salem Village.

There is no way for the series to avoid comparisons with The Crucible, and in most respects it comes up short. The most obvious of the differences is in the production design. Where the earlier film had very believable sets and costume design, specifically in the unavoidable dirtiness they lived in, the TV movie comes off as too clean and modern, especially Gloria Reuben who looks as if she’s in a photo shoot most of the time. The acting also lags behind the feature, though the principals are certainly watchable. The girls in this one are actually the best part of the film, especially Katie Boland and Cara Pifko, though the latter gets precious little screen time. The technical aspects of the film, however, are one of the bright spots. The opening sequence uses special effects to turn the women accused of witchcraft into real witches. And the sound design is also quite good, focusing the audience on the heightened sense of hearing that Katie Boland has when going into her delusions. Finally, cinematographer Pierre Gill brings some interesting camerawork to the production. The major flaw of the film is the lack of a dramatic narrative from Maria Nation. She wanted to stick to the historical facts and where she could have made genuine villains out of Parris and Putnam, she refused, making Arthur Miller’s handling of the material all the more impressive. Salem Witch Trials is a bit overlong, but interesting primarily for those who are familiar with the story. For those still looking for an introduction, stick to The Crucible.