Robert Duvall – The Scarlet Letter (1995, Allied Stars Ltd)
Look, Duvall was, is and always will be Tom Hagen. And if he’s not Tom Hagen, he’s Col. Kilgore. Either way, it pains me to have point out his missteps, but wow…this thing has to be seen be believed, not just for what a bad adaptation of the Hawthorne classic it is, but for how absolutely insane Duvall was allowed to be in this thing.
Demi Moore was at the peak of her star powers and is an entirely too modern Hester Prynne, director Roland Joffe appeared to think he was making an erotic thriller and a still relatively unknown Gary Oldman was in full method mode. But it is Duval, as Hester’s estranged husband, who basically stole the show. After spending years living with the Native Americans, Duval’s Chillingworth appears to have comeback crazy, with a penchant for dancing around in animal skins. Seriously, it’s so bad it’s almost worth watching.
