Seeing the previews for The Beguiled I was intrigued to see what it was about, especially when I saw that it received fairly good reviews. While watching it I thought that it wasn't bad but there wasn't anything that interesting about it and I was slightly bored and didn't connect to any of the characters. In a movie where the characters and the interactions between them is all that is going on (the whole movie is set at the house and mainly in just a few rooms) I need to feel connected or interested in the characters. I was disappointed as the cast had such potential and seemed to just be a waste. When I found out it was a Sophia Coppola movie at the end (as I didn't pay attention to this before I saw it) my non attachment to the movie made sense as I have felt this way about some of her past movies.
The Beguiled is based on a book by Thomas Cullinan of the same name and the movie is set three years into the Civil War at a Southern girls school. Union soldier Corporal John McBurney, played by Colin Farrell, has been wounded and seeks shelter and care at the school. The school is owned by Miss. Martha, played by Nicole Kidman, with teacher Miss Edwina, played by Kirsten Dunst. There are five girls living there Alica, played by Elle Fanning; Amy, played by Oona Laurence; Jane, played by Angourie Rice; Marie, played by Addison Riecke; and Emily, played by Emma Howard. The Corporal disrupts their lives and routines while they are trying to deal with being around the war.
The Beguiled focuses on the intrigue of Corporal John McBurney as he tries to win over all the ladies in the school and the different relationships/ feelings the ladies have towards him through the events of the movie. I can see that all of the actors tries and were acting but there was no real connection between any of the characters and everything felt really forced. There could have been a lot of work with and I would have really liked to see the development from one moment to the next with the relationships between the Corporal and the ladies but it just seemed silted and just assumed that there is acceptance of what is going on. I usually really like Colin Farrell and he usually has really great charm but this is stifled in this movie. It seemed more like directorial and producer choices more then what the actors are capable. The movie seemed to be going for subtle but if was way too subtle for me and I just didn't buy it. When there are difficulties and strife later on in the movie I don't really care because there wasn't the emotional connection that needed to be there to be any real change in me when this finally happened. However it was at this point that anything interesting happened in the movie.
The tone of the movie was consistent and the setting was interesting. I lived the southern trees and the house. It was even interesting to see the interactions the school had with the soldiers who passed by occasionally, hearing the battle not far away, and seeing the smoke from the battle. I did find it strange that there were moments where the whole screen went black and their wasn't a transition from scene to seen that was distracting. It made me think of a made for TV movie where there is just abrupt cut outs where a commercial would have been inputted.
This movie was short and I don't see any reason why more time couldn't have been focused on development and getting me to believe and connect with what was going on. The movie itself wasn't bad it was just boring. I liked Marie, Jane, and Amy but they seemed to be the least focused on characters. It is a movie that will very quickly slip into obscurity if anyone really noticed that it came out in the first place. Definitely not worth paying to see in theatres.
My Rating: 1+
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