The Beguiled Review

The idea that a new version of The Beguiled, the lurid 1971 thriller starring Clint Eastwood as a wounded soldier seeking refuge in a girls' school during the Civil War, would be taken on by Lost In Translation writer/director Sofia Coppola seemed such an odd match that it instantly became intriguing.

Coppola tends to tackle loneliness, longing and deeply-buried passions in her films, albeit in a very understated way, and those themes are certainly evident in The Beguiled's story.

And it would be interesting to see this story, which has a group of women and girls at its core, as presented by a female director. Having said that, I came away somewhat underwhelmed by Coppola's take on the tale.

It's beautifully put together from an artistic point of view, and it displays flashes of dark wit and raw emotion. But it comes across as altogether too controlled and civilised, with the meaner, messier and more brutal (in all senses of the word) aspects of the story left untouched.

The Civil War has been raging for three years and is coming to a conclusion, but for the seven residents of a girls' school in rural Virginia - five young students, teacher Edwina (Kirsten Dunst) and headmistress Martha (Nicole Kidman) - the frequent sound of cannons firing is a reminder that danger is always near.

So they are naturally cautious when enemy soldier John (Colin Farrell) is discovered in the woods near the school. His leg is badly wounded, and these Christian women decide the only decent thing to do is ensure he's properly healed before handing him over to the authorities. As he recovers, John begins manipulating the women, partly to keep himself from being put back in harm's way, partly because he can. He's a charming companion to some, a friendly father figure to others.

To the lonely Edwina, though, he represents the hope of true love. And to the rebellious, impetuous young Alicia (Elle Fanning), he's alluring and desirable. As you can probably surmise, this could get ugly any number of ways. Coppola, however, doesn't really do ugly.

Whatever is driving Martha, Edwina and the girls is only even hinted at in her screenplay, and even then it's only the older women who have any depth of character (and it feels like Kidman and especially Dunst are the ones providing the majority of that depth).

Similarly, John's motivations could be simply craven or mercenary, or maybe a more complex mix, but there's little understanding of who he is and what he represents beyond his actions, despite Farrell's hard work.

The Beguiled has a simple, straightforward (but not insubstantial) story to begin with, so if that's not going to be presented with the theatrical gusto of the 1971 version, then the underlying ideas must be rigorously explored to give an adaptation any weight or merit. Coppola's film does neither - it's tasteful and occasionally captivating, but mostly it's a lovely, inert piece of work.