Last night I previewed the 1995 The Scarlet Letter movie to see if it would be a good film version to recommend after we finish the book. I DO NOT recommend it! Graphic seduction and nudity aside, it is a radically different story with an overtly anti-Christian message. While Hawthorn does find fault (perhaps unfairly) with what he perceives to be a graceless and hypocritical culture among the Puritans, he at least grapples with the destructive nature of un-repented sin and hypocrisy in a way that, in my opinion, points us toward truths worth contemplating. He also provides his reader with a vivid depiction of the pain and suffering that accompanies a choice to "follow your heart" rather than to submit to the law of God. The producers of the latest film adaptation however, try to convince viewers that the way to happiness and freedom lies in a commitment to the self and its passions, ignoring that the heart from which these impulses spring is "deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked." Jeremiah 17:9
I ordered an earlier version of the film on Netflix. I'll let you all know whether I think its worth watching.
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