Director: Sofia Coppola
Writer: Albert Maltz, Irene Kamp (Screenplay) Thomas Cullinan (Novel)
Starring: Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst, Elle Fanning, Oona Laurence, Angourie Rice, Addison Riecke
Plot: At a girls’ school in Virginia during the Civil War, where the young women have been sheltered from the outside world, a wounded Union soldier is taken in. Soon, the house is taken over with sexual tension, rivalries, and an unexpected turn of events.
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Good Thriller
Story: The Beguiled starts as the injured Union soldier Corporal McBurney (Farrell) is taken into a girl’s school run by Miss Martha (Kidman), teacher Edwina (Dunst) and their students Alicia (Fanning), Amy (Laurence), Jane (Rice), Marie (Riecke) and Emily (Howard) as they look to treat his wounds before turning him over the confederation soldiers.
Working together the women decide against turning him and keep him around the house to help out while he finishes he recovery, but when there is a sexual tension between McBurney and the girl’s things take a turn that no one could imagine.
Thoughts on The Beguiled
Characters – Corporal McBurney is a soldier hiding from the civil war after he is injured. He has a speedy recovery in the school but grabs the attention of the women but this will only make his life being put in danger. Miss Martha runs a strict school, with no men around, she reluctantly helps McBurney being the doctor of the house. Edwina is the teacher that takes a shine to McBurney which ends up being the straw that breaks everything down. The students are all different ages showing the levels of innocence we could see broken.
Performances – Colin Farrell gives one of his best performances of his career here being kind one moment and the broken man the next. Nicole Kidman is great in her role too as the head mistress of the school, she shows the mentoring figure of films just how it is done. Kirsten Dunst also continues to give us the mature performances we like seeing from here now. The young actresses who have been giving us good work in other projects all do great here too.
Story – The story follows how the women of the school must keep themselves safe during the Civil War from the men who might come into their lives, we only focus on one who disrupts their calm life leaving nothing the same once they are finished protecting themselves. It is a slow-paced story but it flows past quickly making us want to see where things will go next.
Settings – The film is set inside the girls school, this takes us away from the battlefield the war has been creating make us see how distant these women have become from the world too.
Final Thoughts – This is a good thriller that shows the effects of the Civil War on the innocence people while people were fighting.
Overall: Thriller that is edge of your seat from start to finish.
Rating
