The Scarlet Letter (2004 film)

The Scarlet Letter is a 2004 romantic drama film directed by Wim Wenders and starring Demi Moore as Hester Prynne, Gary Oldman as Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, and Robert Duvall as Roger Chillingworth. It is a heavily fictionalized adaptation of Nathaniel Hawthorne's 1850 novel of the same name.

The film departs significantly from the source material, altering plot points, character motivations, and the overall tone. While retaining the basic premise of Hester Prynne being publicly shamed for adultery in Puritan Boston and forced to wear a scarlet "A," the film introduces new elements and shifts the focus to a more overtly romantic and even revisionist historical narrative.

Key differences from the novel include a more sympathetic portrayal of the Native Americans, a greater emphasis on the physical relationship between Hester and Dimmesdale, and a drastically altered ending. The film was a critical and commercial failure, widely criticized for its historical inaccuracies, melodramatic presentation, and perceived misinterpretation of Hawthorne's themes of sin, guilt, and redemption. Many reviewers found the changes to the story detrimental to the power and complexity of the original novel.