The Beguiled. It's a good one.

The American Civil war is raging. The women of a small boarding school in the wilds of Virginia try their best to carry on with life until one day the war lands on their doorstep in the shape of a badly wounded Yankee soldier by the name of John McBurnley. John is taken in by the women and tended to but his presence stirs up both repressed feelings and new found desires.

I liked this a lot. When I left the cinema the other day I wasn't sure but it's been in my head since and won't feck off. Always a good sign.

It has that dreamlike quality and languid pace that made Sofia Coppola's debut 'The Virgin Suicides' so memorable. She's a fantastic director and has a great visual style. It's atmospheric as hell. The southern setting drips with menace and sexual tension. The way the film is framed in the rarely used 1.66 : 1 ratio gives a story a penned in, claustrophobic feel, mirroring how the characters feel trapped by their circumstances. It's a resolutely old fashioned film too. Aside from a gory image and a brief sex scene it has a timeless feel, like it could have been made at any time in the last 70 years. Last but not least the acting. Wow. Not a weak link, even amongst the younger cast members. 

Colin Farrell hasn't been this good in a long time. He gets to play the part with his own accent and gives a far less forced and far more natural performance than he does when he has to use an American accent. You'll like him and you'll hate him in this. But no matter what he's doing you won't be able to take your eyes off him.

Kirsten Dunst as Edwina is amazing. The teacher trying to be straight laced and to stay true to the social mores of the time and but busting at the seams with need and want. She gives one of the best quiet tamped down performances I've seen in a long time. I fully expect to see her get numerous supporting actress nominations next year.

Nicole Kidman as Miss Martha the headmistress and Elle Fanning as student Alicia are great too. Each affected differently by the newcomer, one turning her needs inwards and turning them into strengths and the other ready and willing to cave in to her carnal desires. All done mostly through gestures and glances. Strong women all though.


Sofia Coppola's film is a new take on the 1966 novel by Thomas Cullinan. In 1971 a version was made by Don Siegel and Clint Eastwood. It's a film very much of its time. This newer version sticks to a very similar story but has some subtle and important changes that make the film fresher and more palatable for today's audiences. For one the point of view of the film is changed from the man's to the women's. The male gaze of the earlier film is removed. The only bare flesh the camera lingers on belongs to a man. It smooths off some of the iffier edges of the earlier film. A woman who was a slave in the book and earlier film is also removed which I think was a mistake. It does help make the women of the film more likeable and relatable but removes some of the shades of grey that made the 71 version a curio. History happened and shouldn't be whitewashed. It should never be condoned but ignoring it doesn't help matters either.

All in all it's a very good film. Fantastically acted and made and changed enough to make it stand apart from the earlier version. It's well worth your time. Go quick though. It won't be in the cinema for much longer.

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