Under-appreciated films: The Crucible.

Based on the play by Arthur Miller, this is a wonderfully theatrical piece and one of my personal favourite films. I absolutely adored the play and the adaptation to screen remains very faithful to the original text. It is a fictionalised story that focuses on a group of young girls in a puritan society in Salem. It does, however, hold some truth as it acts as an allegory to McCarthyism when America blacklisted any communists. The play allowed Miller to express views on a matter he couldn't have directly addressed at the time.


The main character is Abigail Williams, a young Salem woman, who is caught out dancing in the forest with her friends by her uncle, Reverend Parris. Reverend Parris accuses the girls of committing acts of heresy deemed inappropriate by their strongly secular community. The girls realise that they are in trouble as heresy, akin with witchcraft for which they stand accused, is a crime that could leave them sentenced to death. They then find a way to cleverly manipulate their situation for their own benefit and very soon they tear their town apart as neighbour turns on neighbour claiming that the Devil himself has had some part to play.

Daniel Day Lewis gives a truly incredibly performance in the final scene that forever moves me and, the first time I saw it, had me in tears. Similarly Winona Ryder gives a wonderful performance as the truculent young Abigail Williams. This is a must-see film and if you get a chance to see the play then I urge you to do so.

Fun fact: When I first started watching Game of Thrones I thought that Michelle Fairley was Joan Allen, the actress who plays Goody Procter in The Crucible. Can you kind of see the slight resemblance?

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Under-appreciated Movies: Josie And The Pussycats

Here I want to highlight another excellent film that is totally overlooked and should be way more popular than it currently is. This film is Josie and the Pussycats. Released in 2001 this is a film I found and rented on VHS at a small town corner-shop. Boy, does that make me feel old...

Based on the Hanna Barbera cartoon, this live action film follows three aspiring musicians and their band as they suddenly and mysteriously shoot directly into stardom. This film provides a wonderfully post-modern and satirical view of the pop music industry full of subtle humour from start to finish. A running gag in the show is the theme of subliminal messaging. A huge plot point is the idea of subliminal messaging in pop music. This is mirrored with subtle product placement in almost every scene. Full of music from one of my favourite 90s bands, Letters To Cleo, this is a film that is incredibly underrated. It makes interesting statements about the music industry and the relationship we have with it. The film boasts some really great moments and a talented cast. My favourite moment is when one character subtly breaks the fourth wall without any of the characters noticing. This is a sly jab at consumerism, greed and the pursuit of fame/fortune. I'd say this is the perfect film to cuddle up to on a lazy evening in.