The Scarlet Letter

Yes, Roland Joffe's THE SCARLET LETTER, written for the screen by Douglas Day Stewart, is dreadful, though not perfectly so. In brief -- since star Demi Moore's petulant claim that no one has read the book may have some substance -- it tells the story of Hester Prynne, who sleeps with her minister, has his child and bears her shame alone, refusing to name her partner in sin. Shunned by Puritan society and tormented by her husband -- who's presumed dead, but returns and assumes a false name so he can ferret out her lover's identity -- Hester endures through sheer strength of will. It all ends sadly.

The Scarlet Letter is a hard classic to crack; it's gloo...