The Beguiled Reviews

Even though this movie didn't make much waves when it was released, since it was directed by Sofia Coppola, I still wanted to check it out. On top of that, even though I didn't recall much about Don Siegel's version which I saw years ago, I still could remember that it was a rather spellbinding tale. Well, Coppola delivered once again a gorgeous picture and she had a stellar cast at her disposal (Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst, Elle Fanning). However, even if the first half was pretty much pitch-perfect in creating an ominous erotic tension between pretty much all these girls/women and this man, it didn't work so well in the second part I'm afraid. The main issue was with the pivotal scene when McBurney get caught with Alicia (Elle Fanning). Indeed, why on Earth did he choose her when he could have just as easily chosen Martha (Nicole Kidman) or Edwina (Kirsten Dunst)? Eventually, I think the movie was too short so there was no time to develop any of the characters, especially the female ones and, in fact, this movie had indeed a considerably shorter runtime than Siegel’s film which worked better in my opinon. Coming back to this major scene, afterwards, the whole thing made a massive U turn but this change of hearts from all the characters was too jarring leaving not much room so the only option was left was to deliver the viewers a rather predictable conclusion. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was still a decent watch and it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in Sofia Coppola's work.  

Not much to add to my recall of Siegel's if not a provocative aura of reivindication of women against gentleman Farrell. Besides it's war, isn't it? I like the screenplay becuase it has undertones and subtleties, and at the same time, Farrell verbalizes clearly what he thinks we must think.