The Beguiled - Review
Director: Sofia Coppola
Cast: Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst, Elle Fanning
Writer-director Sofia Coppola recently made history by becoming the second female director in the Cannes Film Festival's 70+ years to win the coveted Best Director gong. It's a disheartening, although not shocking, statistic but suggests that The Beguiled (an adaptation of the Thomas P. Culling novel A Painted Devil, not a remake of Don Siegel and Clint Eastwood's 1971 film) is one of the auteur's finest pieces of work to date.
After venturing beyond her advised boundaries, the young Miss Amy (Oona Laurence) stumbles across an injured Union soldier, Corporal John McBurney (Colin Farrell), who deserted his duties during the Civil War. Amy takes him back to her all-female Southern boarding school where Miss Martha (Nicole Kidman) allows him to take refuge. McBurney's presence causes titillation and excitement as the girls and women compete for his affections but sexual tensions soon arise that lead to catastrophic consequences.
The Virgin Suicides. Marie Antoinette. Lost in Translation. Coppola's pictures often explore the female psyche and the deconstruction of women who form their own lonely island in response to patriarchal society - women who are always watched but so rarely seen. Although The Beguiled shares the former encompassing themes, it presents the women with an unspoken power and, to a certain extent, control that they can flex. Until the arrival of McBurney, none of the girls or women have sincerely laid eyes on a man since the beginning of the Civil War - and no pair of male eyes have surveyed the women, either. They are simultaneously watched and seen, particularly Dunst's Edwina who McBurney takes a particular curiosity in. He appreciates her physical beauty but also senses a deep sadness and longing within her, coercing her to confess things she previously wouldn't have had the space to. Even when the women are under the influence of their handsome house guest, and have inadvertently positioned themselves to be preyed on, their gaze and perspective never slips; they're definitely the predators in this sexually charged food chain.
McBurney is quick to take advantage of the effect that his presence in the Infirmary is having over its occupants and his confidence only grows when his injured leg heals enough to release him from the confines of the music room. He's constantly pestered by the females of varying ages but overplays his hand as he tantalises and tickles the fancies of the deprived Southern belles; by believing that he's living the ultimate male fantasy, he neglects to think that he's in the midst of a nightmare. Comparatively, Farrell's McBurney is decidedly less manipulative than Eastwood's interpretation of the solider, but he descends into the mentality of a caged animal as the story becomes progressively darker.
Perhaps Coppola's most genre-defined film thus far, The Beguiled also proves to be her funniest as the Oscar winner imbues the gothic thriller with a sadistic and occasionally cheeky sense of humour. Much to the delight of the students, Miss Martha invites McBurney to dine with them for the evening. Supper is filled with poorly masked desires for attentions as the women tussle for approval: As McBurney heartily consumes a slice of apple pie (his favourite dessert), Alicia is keen for him to know that the pie is courtesy of her handiwork. Edwina then interjects, asserting that Alicia followed her recipe and Amy swiftly takes credit for collecting the apples. Not wanting to be outdone or forgotten, Marie (Addison Riecke) then echoes the soldier's statements, professing that apple pie is her favourite dessert, too. The laughs build as each woman tries to usurp and undercut the competition, but they don't stop there - McBurney talks almost exclusively in double entendres as he discusses with Miss Martha the ground's flailing garden maintenance, emphasising the sexual undercurrent that courses through the separate dynamics.
Sexy, stirring and unsettling, The Beguiled is an unmissable piece of cinema. Coppola continues to operate in her comfort zone, delivering the same themes and sumptuous style, but she demonstrates her willingness to experiment and evolve.
EB
Cast: Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst, Elle Fanning
Writer-director Sofia Coppola recently made history by becoming the second female director in the Cannes Film Festival's 70+ years to win the coveted Best Director gong. It's a disheartening, although not shocking, statistic but suggests that The Beguiled (an adaptation of the Thomas P. Culling novel A Painted Devil, not a remake of Don Siegel and Clint Eastwood's 1971 film) is one of the auteur's finest pieces of work to date.After venturing beyond her advised boundaries, the young Miss Amy (Oona Laurence) stumbles across an injured Union soldier, Corporal John McBurney (Colin Farrell), who deserted his duties during the Civil War. Amy takes him back to her all-female Southern boarding school where Miss Martha (Nicole Kidman) allows him to take refuge. McBurney's presence causes titillation and excitement as the girls and women compete for his affections but sexual tensions soon arise that lead to catastrophic consequences.
The Virgin Suicides. Marie Antoinette. Lost in Translation. Coppola's pictures often explore the female psyche and the deconstruction of women who form their own lonely island in response to patriarchal society - women who are always watched but so rarely seen. Although The Beguiled shares the former encompassing themes, it presents the women with an unspoken power and, to a certain extent, control that they can flex. Until the arrival of McBurney, none of the girls or women have sincerely laid eyes on a man since the beginning of the Civil War - and no pair of male eyes have surveyed the women, either. They are simultaneously watched and seen, particularly Dunst's Edwina who McBurney takes a particular curiosity in. He appreciates her physical beauty but also senses a deep sadness and longing within her, coercing her to confess things she previously wouldn't have had the space to. Even when the women are under the influence of their handsome house guest, and have inadvertently positioned themselves to be preyed on, their gaze and perspective never slips; they're definitely the predators in this sexually charged food chain.
McBurney is quick to take advantage of the effect that his presence in the Infirmary is having over its occupants and his confidence only grows when his injured leg heals enough to release him from the confines of the music room. He's constantly pestered by the females of varying ages but overplays his hand as he tantalises and tickles the fancies of the deprived Southern belles; by believing that he's living the ultimate male fantasy, he neglects to think that he's in the midst of a nightmare. Comparatively, Farrell's McBurney is decidedly less manipulative than Eastwood's interpretation of the solider, but he descends into the mentality of a caged animal as the story becomes progressively darker.
Perhaps Coppola's most genre-defined film thus far, The Beguiled also proves to be her funniest as the Oscar winner imbues the gothic thriller with a sadistic and occasionally cheeky sense of humour. Much to the delight of the students, Miss Martha invites McBurney to dine with them for the evening. Supper is filled with poorly masked desires for attentions as the women tussle for approval: As McBurney heartily consumes a slice of apple pie (his favourite dessert), Alicia is keen for him to know that the pie is courtesy of her handiwork. Edwina then interjects, asserting that Alicia followed her recipe and Amy swiftly takes credit for collecting the apples. Not wanting to be outdone or forgotten, Marie (Addison Riecke) then echoes the soldier's statements, professing that apple pie is her favourite dessert, too. The laughs build as each woman tries to usurp and undercut the competition, but they don't stop there - McBurney talks almost exclusively in double entendres as he discusses with Miss Martha the ground's flailing garden maintenance, emphasising the sexual undercurrent that courses through the separate dynamics.
Sexy, stirring and unsettling, The Beguiled is an unmissable piece of cinema. Coppola continues to operate in her comfort zone, delivering the same themes and sumptuous style, but she demonstrates her willingness to experiment and evolve.
EB
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