The Crucible

I never much liked Arthur Miller's play, but it never before starred Daniel Day-Lewis and Paul Scofield. Also, the last time I knew any Miller I hadn't yet read Sewall's tinkerings or the lunatic journals of William Byrd, whose mild perversions grace any pale cheek with a prim flourish:

"About 10 o’clock I went to my lodgings. I had good health but wicked thoughts, God forgive me."

So I hadn't yet read those curious contextual buffers that shield us from the drudgery of election. I had read Hawthorne, but I hate Hawthorne. I'm glad this movie gives me some reason to like Arthur Miller. It must be a mistake, certainly, to despise the bookworm who stole Marilyn Monroe from the famous jock.

But I'd still rather read Sewall or Byrd than gloomy old Miller or Nate the Revelator. "God forgive me."