The Beguiled is a re-make of the Civil War period drama that originally stared Clint Eastwood in 1971. The re-make stars Colin Farrell and Nicole Kidman. It had an interesting premise of an injured Union solider who deserted his camp. He is saved by a young girl who brings her back to her home, a school for girls in Virginia. The solider is first met with distained but the longer the stays the more he intrigues the lonely, young women. His presence soon stirs lust and jealousy amongst the women and girls, which nearly causes them to turn against each other and eventually against him.
The acting from the entire cast was quite good, especially that of the main four (Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst and Elle Fanning). The costumes and the cinematography we good as well. The pieces used were able to transport you to the late 1800s and the filmography did a great job of capturing the vastness and loneness of the situation that the women were in. It all seemed very accurate for the time period.
In contrast, the movie was rather short and felt rushed at the end. There was a lack of character development so in quite a few scenes you had to deduct for yourself what was going on or why it was going on. One of the final scenes toward the end of the movie is a prime example of that. I was confused by the extremely drastic measures that were taken at the end, it almost didn’t seem warranted. By the closing I felt like I missed something and I needed more context. This movie could have really used the help of a fuller backstory.
Overall I felt indifferent about this one. It wasn’t terrible but it wasn’t really that great either. It’s probably one that I won’t see again. For those that are a fan of Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman or Kristen Dunst you might want to check it out, but everyone else, I’d suggest skipping it.
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