‘Beguiled’ disturbing and beautiful – ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ dominates social media

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“The Beguiled” is a strange and uncomfortable film in both of its iterations. Sofia Coppola’s take is more nuanced than the 1971 original, with deeper insight into the ladies of Ms Farnsworth’s Seminary and perhaps not enough into the wounded soldier who disrupts their lives.

The writer-director brings her characteristic elegance to the film, which, like the original, is based on the 1966 novel by Thomas Cullinan. Coppola’s Civil War South is all mossy woods, buttoned-up dresses and gated plantations, realized in immaculate detail. So many shots, including the eerie final image, could be framed and popped into a museum.

While Coppola broadens the story’s female characters beyond the stereotypes shown in 1971, she leaves the soldier’s motives less clear, which makes his life-altering transgression harder to understand.

The story is set in Virginia in 1864. Despite the war raging right outside her property, Ms Farnsworth (Nicole Kidman) has continued to run her Seminary for Young Ladies, with a single teacher, Edwina (Kirsten Dunst), and five students. Everything changes for them when one of the youngest girls brings home a badly wounded Union soldier she discovered during a walk in the woods.

“You are a most unwelcome visitor”, Ms Farnsworth tells the handsome Cpl John McBurney (Colin Farrell), after stitching up his tattered leg and giving him a sponge bath.

McBurney is locked in the music room, but his presence in the house causes a stir among its residents, distracting them from their daily routine of Bible studies, French lessons and etiquette practice. One girl fears they could face consequences for harboring an enemy. Another wants him to meet her pet turtle. Edwina and Ms Farnsworth spend the most time with the soldier as they are tasked with his care, but all of the young ladies want his attention.

One of the most charming and lighthearted scenes is when a healing McBurney is invited to dinner and each of the young women show up in their fanciest gowns.

Those dresses, and the ladies’ everyday attire, are meticulously authentic, with corsets underneath and seemingly hundreds of buttons holding the fitted garments closed tight. Their braided updos, also period-accurate, must have taken hours each day.

As McBurney continues his recovery, he gets closer to Edwina and Ms Farnsworth, and even a few of the girls. But then he makes a move that alienates nearly all of them.

Disruptive

Clint Eastwood plays the handsome soldier in the 1971 film, and flashbacks show that he’s a shifty guy from the start. Farrell’s character, though, is less developed. He’s presented as decent and sincere, so his disruptive choices seem to come out of nowhere.

Ms Farnsworth’s ultimate response also seems excessive, given the way her character unfolds and her responsibility to her students.

Nevertheless, Coppola creates a portrait of the repressed, isolated lives of women and girls during wartime — even if the only overt signs of battle here are faraway explosions and the occasional cavalry coming by. And unlike in the 1971 film, Coppola’s characters have agency, even as they’re affected by the presence of a man in their midst.

The performances are engrossing, particularly Kidman’s: She disappears into the distant primness of Ms Farnsworth. The costumes are exquisite and the Southern setting atmospheric and beautiful.

But without a clear understanding of what motivates they key characters, it’s hard to know just what this feminist retelling is saying about men, women and the way they relate.

“The Beguiled”, a Focus Features release, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America for “some sexuality.” Running time: 94 minutes. Three stars out of four.

MPAA definition of R: Restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

Also:

LOS ANGELES: Sony and Marvel’s “Spider-Man: Homecoming” dominated social media buzz with nearly 93,000 new conversations last week, according to media-measurement firm ComScore and its PreAct service.

Sony released an international poster on June 12, announced an arcade game at Dave & Busters on June 14, and released a trailer for its VR experience on June 16.

“Spider-Man: Homecoming”, starring Tom Holland as a 15-year-old Spider-Man who’s still in high school, has produced a total of 2.18 million new conversations. The tentpole opens on July 7.

Disney-Marvel’s “Black Panther” generated 33,000 new conversations and has a total of 566,000 conversations since the studio launched the first trailer for the film debuted during Game 4 of the NBA Finals on June 9, as the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers faced off. The footage offered the first look at such big stars as Lupita Nyong’o and Michael B. Jordan, as well as Chadwick Boseman, who plays the titular Black Panther.

Boseman, who debuted the character in 2016’s “Captain America: Civil War”, plays T’Challa, the king of a fictional, technologically advanced African nation. “Black Panther” opens Feb 16.

Paramount’s “Transformers: The Last Night” produced 29,000 new conversations last week in the wake of releasing new posters on June 13. Paramount held its London premiere on June 18. The film will launch worldwide on Wednesday with previews Tuesday night.

Universal’s animated “Despicable Me 3” generated 27,000 new conversations last week to lift its total to 159,000. The family comedy open on June 30.

Disney and Lucasfilm’s “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” saw 20,000 new conversations last week as plot rumors surfaced on June 12-14, regarding Rey building her own light saber and two new sea creature characters. The tentpole, which opens Dec 15, has already generated 1.9 million new conversations. (Agencies)

By Sandy Cohen

This news has been read 6534 times!

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