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... newness were probably a punishment for their behavior. Lust is an important theme of the novel, and central to the films development. In his sermon, Dimmesdale spoke of the power of divine love, and how it must exist between Indians and free men and slaves.
He also preached of lust, but not merely in the physical sense. With great force, he urged his parishioners to avoid lusting after what is not theirs, but interestingly used money and other trappings of power as his example. The Scarlet Letters filmmaker, Roland Joffe, also utilized coloring in his film just as Hawthorne did. A slight, brilliant red bird was used as a visual reminder of Hawthorne's metaphors. The bird first glided across the screen when Hester was planting her garden. Joffe silenced all background noise and music while the bird, in nearly slow motion, flapped out of the forest.
The effect was abstract and dreamlike; all focus was on the radiant bird. Time resumed its perpetual course once again, and the bird flew into the enigmatic forest. Hester was as shocked as the Joffe intended the viewer to be, and followed the bird through the vegetation to a forest paradise, where she first laid eyes on Dimmesdale swimming nude in clear water. The red bird, obviously the inducement directing her to her co-sinner, was strongly linked to the themes of life, to the mischievous nature of the forest, and to Dimmesdale. The bird was used a symbol again when Hester and Dimmesdale were having their affair in the barn. During this scene, Joffe cut back and forth from the couple to Mituba bathing sensually with the red bird by her side.
As Hawthorne used the color red to show Pearls passion and life, Joffe utilized the bird as an equally powerful symbol. Thus, Joffe created a different symbol to make a similar point. Joffe used a variation of scarlet in defining Chillingsworths character, rather than ebony overtones in the book, but once again to prove the same point of Chillingsworths evil. When he reunited with Hester, he wore a faded jacket of an unattractive, repulsive red.
Brewster's bleeding scalp was the same lifeless red. The use of the color red for Pearls blanket and clothing as a symbol of life, love and passion is used in the film and novel as well. In both works, she consistently dressed in a bright crimson dress or clutched a red blanket in stark contrast to the grays and blacks of the other characters in both the film and the novel. Chillingworth is the embodiment of evil in both the novel and the film. The symbolism of the forest is used similarly to the novel. Hester's home is on the border of the forest and the sea; inside the forest in the novel displays her wishes to be as close to nature as possible.
Her being near nature takes her away from the town, illustrating her alienation. Her link to the wild and witchcraft is strengthened in the movie, but was also evident in the book. The theme of the Puritan founding fathers evil is stressed. As in the novel, the characters are not portrayed as innately evil, but merely bound by laws at the expense of human suffering. At the start of the film, the founding fathers and magistrates were taken aback when Hester showed a will to live in her own way, and told her sternly rules and order equal survival. Joffe took many liberties with the book.
First of all, by beginning the film where he did, Joffe gave the viewer more insight into Hester's character. Her strength and recklessness is seen immediately; she bids on Mituba, her indentured servant forgets to attend church, and live alone in her company. The town elders immediately disapprove. In adding characters, the viewer is provided with more insight into the filmmakers moral code.
Mituba is the essence of loyalty, susceptibility and innocence; her violent murder acts as the first sign of Chillingworth's completely cruel and volatile temperament. The development of Mistress Hibbins character adds needed warmth to the film; she has a weird sense of humor and upon first meeting Hester knows that she is in love with minister. She is portrayed as someone who can see the truth of the human soul. Johnny Sassamon, an English-speaking Algonquin who is Dimmesdale's best friend, is a minor character. The fact that the ministers best friend is an Indian shows both his open mind and his good nature as well as his link to that which is uncivilized and not of Puritan ideals. Brewster is first portrayed as a kindred spirit to Hester, who finds Hester her home.
However, by the end of the film, he has tried to rape her and is seen as almost as evil as Chillingworth. His character is the result of a lack of rules, both external and internal. While Hester doesnt choose to abide by the rules of society, her internal sense of right and wrong is powerful. Thus, Joffe makes the point that rules are important, but not all. In using Pearl as the narrator, Joffe gives a more personalized portrayal of the situation. Obviously, she empathizes for her parents situation.
Also, she is expressing a more contemporary perspective; one that a modern audience could relate to more easily than the books narrator. His creativity enhanced this story in several ways. It is a story dealing with love, passion, and beauty, the use of picturesque images to convey these feelings certainly gave a level of quality to his work. The use of the bright red of Pearls clothing and the bird versus the faded blood red associated with Chillingworth are quite effective in portraying the themes of love versus hate. The casting is successful as Demi Moore, while not as beautiful as one may have imagined from the novel, pulls off an image of strength that many other actresses would not have. Her strong jaw and physical strength contrast to Gary Oldmans slender build, long wavy hair and fine features.
In appearance alone, she comes across as the stronger character. Pearls role is played by a little girl who shares a remarkable resemblance to both Demi Moore and Gary Oldman, which adds to the realism of the film. The addition of Mituba's mute, sensitive character is important because her murder at Chillingworth's hands displays his total corruption by revenge. Brewster's character exhibits the traits of a person governed by no rules or order.
The development of Mistress Hibbins character adds humor and interest to the film; Hester's life seems less bleak with her presence. This, intermixed with the more positive ending, was probably aimed to appease the modern viewer who will always choose a less realistic, happy ending to a tragic one that pulls the story together. It was also interesting that in the end of the film, the town is at last seen in a state of total chaos; proving that the founding fathers wrong; rules and order do not equal survival, because the town did not survive. The Indians, however, did, and proved to be the ultimate downfall of this group of people governed only by austere external rules, not the rules of true morals. The change in the time frame was helpful in explaining how Hester evolved as she did. There was less of a sense of spirituality in the film, however.
The scaffold scene where Pearl, Hester and Dimmesdale are on the scaffold at night with the brilliant light in the night sky was missing and would have added a more mystical sense. At times the film seemed more like a modern love story, once again, to appease the modern audience. In the film, Hester, Pearl, and Dimmesdale move to the Carolinas to start a new life, while in Hawthorne's novel, Pearl lives a full life, her mother serving the community and her father dying on the scaffold. Neither ending is better, one may be more satisfying and another may be more informative. One may favor the film over the novel or vice versa, but despite ones preference the amount of work put into both cannot be overlooked.
Using the novel as a foundation from which to gauge his work, the filmmaker created his own work of art, cutting and pasting different parts, as he felt necessary. The filmmakers rendition also reserved some themes and characters from the novel, for either higher ratings in the box office or for his own personal gratification. The film and novel have their similarities and differences, but both effectively keep the audience (or reader) in suspense, leaving them begging to know what happens next.
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Research essay sample on Hester And Dimmesdale End Of The Film
