Hot off her historic and triumphant Best Director win at Cannes, Sofia Coppola’s The Beguiled continues to prove how talented she is behind the camera. Basically reviewing itself in the title and describing its audience after seeing the film, The Beguiled is a slow burn, but when it gets good, it gets good.
Taking place in Virginia in 1864, three years into the Civil War, the film opens with Amy (Oona Laurence) finding Corporal John McBurney (Colin Farrell) badly injured in the middle of the forest. She brings the Union soldier back to Miss Martha Farnsworth’s (Nicole Kidman) Seminary for Young Ladies to be tended to, but Miss Martha stipulates that once he’s healed, he must leave.
The girls take an instant liking to him, particularly Edwina (Kirsten Dunst) and Alicia (Elle Fanning). He’s easy on the eyes and helps out in the garden when he cans. However, the longer he stays, the more he threatens the carefully structured routines and lives of all of the ladies in the house. It doesn’t help that he flirts with every single one of the girls in the house, causing them to become catty and turning on each other when vying for his attention.
The 1966 novel by Thomas P. Cullinan which The Beguiled is based off of (originally titled A Painted Devil) was predominately told from John’s point of view. Not only has Coppola reimagined the story from a female perspective, but she’s taken the typical male gaze and flipped it on its head by filming the 19th century equivalent of a woman in a bikini slowly climbing out of a pool – a glistening Colin Farrell chopping wood and wiping away his sweat as the girls look on. All this just further emphasizing how inexperienced and sexually-repressed (read: extremely horny) these girls are.
The Beguiled solidifies the fact that it’s Sofia Coppola’s world and we’re all just living in it. But make no mistake, in this film, Nicole Kidman is definitely the Queen that rules the land. Though there’s not really one character that is more important than another, Miss Martha’s authoritative sensibility makes her a little harder to understand and a lot more interesting. Kidman carries herself as the headmistress (or as I prefer, the HBIC) in such a way that demands you pay attention to her. Coppola gives room for the entire cast to shine, but The Beguiled is a film the Kidmaniacs (I really hope this is a real fandom name) won’t want to miss, even if the script is a little lacking at times.
Shot in 1.66:1, the use muted tones and soft lighting add to the overall mystery and feeling of unease of the film. Character-perfect costumes consisting of frills and lace create a sense of innocence for the girls – even if they are all inappropriately infatuated with McBurney. Add in the fact that some of the film was filmed at the same location as parts of Beyonce’s visual album, Lemonade, and you’ve got yourself a rather fine Southern Gothic film.
Rating: 8/10