- Actors: Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst, Elle Fanning
- Director: Sofia Coppola
- Writers: Sofia Coppola, Albert Maltz, Grimes Grice
- Producers: Sofia Coppola, Youree Henley, Roman Coppola
- Disc Format: Color, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
- Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (DTS 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (DTS 5.1)
- Subtitles: French, Spanish, English
- Region: Region A/1
- Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
- Rated: Re
- Studio: Universal Studios Home Entertainment
- Release Date: October 10, 2017
- Digital Copy Expiration Date: May 2, 2018
- Run Time: 187 minutes
By removing key
characters of color from the adaptation of Thomas Cullinan’s Civil War-era
novel, Sophia Coppola has lost a key element of the original narrative, which
was more faithfully adapted in 1971. By deciding to shoot the film in
purposefully low light that is meant to look realistic in scenes of
candlelight, Coppola has made an ugly movie full of indecipherably dark scenes.
Endlessly pretentious and effortlessly dull for a majority of the run-time, The Beguiled still manages to be one of
the best films that Coppola has made in years, though this is not saying much
after enduring vapid qualities of both The
Bling Ring and Somewhere.
Coppola is the
type of director that always feels ostentatious, even when the filmmaking is
modest. The Beguiled makes little
effort for achieving attractive cinematography, cares little about keeping the
pace up, and spends all efforts creating a world that feels entirely lived in
rather than giving the audience reason to care about any of what happens in it.
It’s just too bad we can’t see half of the production designer’s work within
the under-lit scenes. It is even more unfortunate that the film’s greatest
efforts are buried beneath the lighting, because the meandering pace of the
narrative provides little else to be engaged by.
Taking
place in a secluded girls’ boarding school within earshot of a Civil War
battlefield in Virginia,
The Beguiled follows the exploits
that occur after a wounded Union soldier is taken in. Corporal McBurney (Colin
Farrell) is treated as a burden and somewhat of an enemy when he first arrives,
though the presence of a man in the home filled with women instantly changes
the dynamic. Each of the women gradually lose control of all rational thought
in the company of a male figure, in a surprisingly sexist depiction of female
carnal urges and the pettiness of jealousies that follow when several women
desire the same man.
With all of the
other men away at war, the house of women becomes enchanted by the arrival of
McBurney, though each handles it with varying levels of repression.
Headmistress Miss Martha (Nicole Kidman) treats him as a prisoner of war, but
eventually comes around to his presence as though she has been seduced.
Blooming teenager Alicia (Elle Fanning) is much more direct in her flirtations,
but the Corporal expresses his desire for Edwina (Kirsten Dunst) when they are
in private. This web of desires inevitably turns deadly, though it occurs in
the least exciting way imaginable.
The Beguiled isn’t ever completely
boring, but it is often frustratingly pretentious for no discernable reason.
The narrative begs for a bit more pulp, but instead Coppola attempts to make
the film more sophisticated. There are few thrills to be found in this
approach, and even if the outdoor scenes are beautifully shot, the darkness of
nearly every indoor scene makes it difficult to discern between the various
blonde characters. Perhaps this, if for no other reason, was why it might have
been a good idea for Coppola to refrain from the whitewashing of the source
material. Or at the very least, she could have made an effort for more of a
variety in the whiteness.
The Blu-ray
release of The Beguiled comes with a
DVD copy and a code for a digital copy. The special features on the disc
include two behind-the-scenes featurettes: “A Shift in Perspective” and “A
Southern Style.”
Entertainment Value:
5/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 6.5/10
Historical
Significance: 6/10
Special Features: 3.5/10
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