A languid, Southern Gothic psychosexual potboiler as a wounded Yankee soldier (Colin Farrell) turns up at a Virginia girls school at the height of the American Civil War.
His arrival awakens sexual longing for the adult teachers left at the school (Nicole Kidman and Kirsten Dunst) as well as kindles burgeoning sexuality among the girls (particularly Elle Fanning). Erotic, poetic, tense – the southern humidity is palpable in the enclosed, claustrophobic space of the girls’ privileged environment.
The Beguiled, a remake of the 1971 film starring Clint Eastwood, seemingly more expertly teased than directed by Sofia Coppola, is a beautifully nuanced ensemble piece that, whilst at times a little slow, tells its visceral story with aplomb.
Rating: 73%
Director: Sofia Coppola (Lost In Translation, Marie Antoinette)
Writer: Sofia Coppola (Lost In Translation, Marie Antoinette) – based on the novel by Thomas Cullinan
Main cast: Nicole Kidman (Rabbit Hole, Cold Mountain), Colin Farrell (In Bruges, Miami Vice), Kirsten Dunst (Spider-Man, Melancholia), Elle Fanning (Somewhere, The Neon Demon)
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