The Beguiled

It's been argued recently that the Hollywood system for films is broken. Currently we are being force fed the 5th in the lucrative "Transformers" franchise as well as had entries from well established cinematic universes ranging from Marvel (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2) to new kid on the block "The Dark Universe", which Universal is using to resurrect its classic movie monsters (The Mummy). Now I can easily make the argument that for every "Pirates of the Caribbean: This Ship Has Sailed) we get quality: "Wonder Woman". With that being said the fact remains that basically every weekend the multiplexes are being filled with either a sequel, reboot, remake or some sort of combination of all 3.

Surely there must be some escapism for the theatergoer who doesn't constanly need an explosion or product placement crammed down their eye sockets, the indie studios have something up their sleeves right? Well yes and no...

"The Beguiled" is the latest entry from acclaimed director Sofia Coppola (Lost in Translation) and, wait for it...is a remake of a 1971 little seen Clint Eastwood starrer which is also based on a novel of the same name. Easily forgettable during its initial release in the 70's version has become somewhat of a minor classic in as it was one of the early entries in the film renaissance that occurred during the decade as well as its a type of role for Eastwood that is quite different then what we are used to.

The new version has a very impressive cast. Colin Farrell (The Lobster) takes on the Eastwood role, Nicole Kidman (To Die For), Coppola muse Kirsten Dunst (Marie Antoinette) and Fanning sister #2 Elle Fanning (The Neon Demon) headline the small cast and they are all fantastic, especially Kidman and Farrell.

Set in Virginia 3 years into the US Civil War Farrell plays an injured Union soldier discovered by one of the young girls who attend Kidman's Christian boarding school. Reluctantly Kidman's headmistress agrees to take the enemy soldier in to heal his wounds before turning him over to the Confederate army.

What follows is a slow building of a southern gothic tale filled with suspense and sexual tension that concludes with an ending that has the perfect amount of tension and dark humor to satisfy. Along the way we get beautiful cinematography of the Southern plantation on which the school is set as well as the dim candle lit interior scenes. Coppola wisely doesn't try to go outside of her wheelhouse in terms of camera tricks or other studio fare standards, she sets the scenes and lets her tremendous cast do the hard work for her.

Having seen both versions I don't know that it was necessary to bring a new version into the 21st century. There certainly is a lot to admire here and I would still recommend it especially as the original is not currently streaming on any platform that I could find.

7.5 out of 10 anatomy books


*going forward our ranking system will vary depending on a certain item that I found memorable from each film. As example, Forrest Gump might receive 9 out of 10 cans of Bubba Gump Shrimp