In the 1996 film version for which Arthur Miller wrote the screenplay, Reverend Hale is portrayed pretty closely to the way the playwright wrote his part for the stage. In the scene when Hale arrives in Salem, he is smug and seems to enjoy showing off his prowess in detecting the presence of witchcraft. When the girls confess and then begin naming witches at the close of the first act, he is quite triumphant in the film version.
The chief difference in the stage and screen versions comes after he visits the Proctors' farm and hears that the court has ordered the arrests of Martha Corey, Rebecca Nurse, and Elizabeth Proctor. He tries to remain calm, but it is quite clear in Rob Campbell's acting in the film version that his frustration with Hathorne and Danforth mounts. He raises his voice quite loudly when he protests in open court that Abigail has "struck him [as] false."
Also in the film version, it is clear that Hale intends to abandon the court when he rides away on horseback following John Proctor's arrest at the end of act 3. The look he gives the townspeople and officials is both withering and regretful. This scene is not part of the stage play, and so his feelings about the proceedings are only declaimed as "I quit this court" as act 3 ends onstage.
In both the stage play and the film version, Hale is subdued in the fourth act. He understands that John and Elizabeth will not allow themselves to become pawns of a theocratic government desperate to be seen as infallible, and his demeanor is much quieter and resigned to the injustice.
There is not a notable difference between Reverend Hale in the play and the depiction of Reverend Hale in the 1996 film. Both characters embody a Reverend who seeks to do the Lord's work by removing Satan's presence in the world. Hale's additional education in witchcraft allows the residents of Salem to acknowledge him as a capable and credible source. His confidence in his work is apparent in both the play and the film. As the play (and the film) progress, Hale is increasingly troubled by the personal motives that drive the accusations. His doubt in the court and in the over-reliance on spectral evidence causes him great strife. Miller's description of Hale's epiphany is strong, but it is best seen in the film as the film provides the audience the opportunity to observe the facial reactions (bewilderment, scorn, condemnation) up close.
In the text, Reverend Hale comes to Salem believing so thoroughly in his own education and knowledge that he never believes for a moment that he could be taken in or tricked. This arrogance makes him vulnerable. He doesn't realize why Tituba might lie to him, what motives Abigail and the other girls might have for making up stories, and so he is taken in by their dishonesty. He is not a bad man, but he was a little too confident in himself and his abilities. Later, in Act Four, when Hale returns to Salem to counsel the convicted to confess a lie, he agonizes over his role in the trials, how his confidence amounted to complicity. In the 1996 movie, directed by Nicholas Hytner, Rob Campbell portrays Reverend Hale, and he does a good job of capturing these most important elements of Hale's character. He is portrays Hale's confidence well, the confidence that crumbles as the play progresses, and he allows Hale to continue to be sympathetic while, simultaneously, showing how even his behavior helped to permit the tragedy to occur.
Different readers and movie viewers are perhaps going to feel differently about how Hale's character compares between Miller's version and Hytner's film version. Personally, I feel that the movie version of Hale sticks quite closely to the play's version of the character. Hale shows up in both versions as an incredibly confident and self-righteous person. He believes in witchcraft, and he believes that he is one of the men than can and should purge Salem of witches. By the end of the play, he is a broken and cynical man. He has lost all faith in the law, and he counsels the accused to confess to a lie in order to save their lives. This happens in the movie as well, and I believe that actor does a great job at conveying Hale's passion for valuing life as God's most precious gift. It's really good that the movie got this character right because, after John Proctor, I believe he is the most complex character.
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