The Beguiled (2017)

2017’s “The Beguiled”, written and directed by Sofia Coppola.

Starring Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst, Elle Fanning, Oona Laurence, Angourie Rice, Addison Riecke, and Emma Howard.

What is it about?

In the 3^rd year of the American civil war (1864), a wounded yankee soldier (Farrell) is discovered by a student in an all woman school. The headmaster (Kidman), agrees to take him in to heal. While being nursed back to health, his presence seems to wake up something in the pious but sheltered group, from the teachers (Dunst), to the older girls (Fanning), to the younger less developed girls. Farrell proves himself less than enthusiastic about returning to the battlefront, and acts in ways that will increase his chances of not doing so. Will the girls be charmed by his tricks, or will they stay in school?

Why is it worth seeing?

“Beguiled” uses only natural light and candles to showcase some serious directing mojo from Coppola. Every shot and cut has a purpose, designed to show the emotions that get stirred up from a fox entering the henhouse. The plot doesn’t have a lot of moving parts, and so the beauty comes (through shafts of smoky light, and in betrayed glances) in admiring the parts that are there.

Coppola has said that she wanted to update the original 1971 film with the perspective from the women who find themselves with a guest who has more complicated intentions than fighting for the wrong side in a civil war. In particular, Kidman and Dunst prove there is more underneath the surface than is initially revealed. Dunst and Coppola seem to have established a Scorcese/De Niro connection, and here she is icy steel, until Farrell’s words reveal the possibility of a different life, more removed from the school’s pious routine, that cracks her armour. Coppola’s treatment removes some of the racial themes in the original, but shows how tight female camaraderie can be in the seductive face of enchantment.

Powered by a minimalist but effective score by Phoenix, Coppola won the Best Director Award at Cannes. It’s not hard to see why. Coppola’s classically inspired feminine style goes a long way through a simple but potent story. In other words, it’s beguiling.

Rating:

4/5

Trailer: Click Here.