The Big Picture The '80s and '90s introduced movie goers to countless mega-stars, with Daniel Day-Lewis and Winona Ryder being two of the biggest. Day-Lewis' big break came in 1984 in The Bounty, a film that has since been followed by an illustrious career. Ryder had her break-out role as Lydia Deetz in the classic gothic comedy, Beetlejuice, and would quickly become one of the most in demand stars in the industry thanks to films such as Heathers and Little Women.
The Crucible A Salem resident attempts to frame her ex-lover's wife for being a witch in the middle of the 1692 witchcraft trials. Daniel Day-Lewis doesn't stop at complicating the character here, though. When Proctor thinks he's about to have a break through by getting one of Abigail's friends to confess to their lies, Abigail manipulates her into siding against Proctor, leading the character to deliver his famous "I say God is dead" monologue.
Her character makes several attempts to win Proctor back throughout the film, all of which lead to rejection and threats. Ryder truly understood the pains and nuances that made the character tick, and, despite all the lives Abigail both ruins and ends, there is a strange sense of innocence and ignorance that makes her motivations believable. It's not an easy task to make a love-struck teenager a seemingly unstoppable adversary, but Ryder makes her evil character worthy of some sympathy.