The Beguiled - movie review

The Beguiled aims at a more consensual area, where the beauty of images sometimes takes precedence over rickety content. Sofia Coppola remains an entire director of actors and it is they who help to solidify the story and make it as interesting.

Like a Demeter of modern times, Sofia Coppola continues to plow her cinematographic playground which is recognizable among all and which one likes to revisit.

With The Beguiled, she appropriates the novel by Thomas P. Cullinan, who has already given an astounding adaptation of Don Siegel with Clint Eastwood. But unlike the 1971 film, Francis Ford's daughter decided to eliminate the most sensitive elements (misogyny, incest, latent pedophilia, ambiguous relationship with an Afro-American character) to concentrate on an almost exclusively feminine universe. A choice that might appear sterile in the eyes of some.

It's hard not to feel familiar. The feature film takes up the premise of his Virgin Suicides - his personal masterpiece - altering it somewhat in passing. There is always talk of a band of women and girls obsessed by a man. They will do everything to treat it with care ... and even more. Sexual tension is present in almost all plans and the director develops a rather special atmosphere and atmosphere. His well-rewarded staging at the last Cannes Film Festival plays with finesse and eroticism (practically everything is illuminated by candlelight!), Multiplying symbols and metaphors to finish. His magnificent forest shots, all in candor and pleasure, evoke the unforgettable lyricism of Picnic at Hanging Rock by Peter Weir.

The essence of its cinema is found everywhere within this elegant and elegant work. The suspended rhythm allows the boredom to settle progressively, reminding us of how the daily life can weigh on the characters. Civil war in filigree does not manage to get them out of their slump. Only a male presence ends up disturbing them ... We discover in passing a desire of the filmmaker to push the comedy even further than on his underestimated Somewhere and his superficial The Bling Ring. A humor that works surprisingly.

The drama unfortunately suffers from a too short duration which does not allow to explore in depth its many themes and the disarray of its beings. The psychology of the individuals remains summary and one feels that the excellent actresses - Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst, Elle Fanning - are prisoners of these canvas. This is also the case of Colin Farrell, whose natural charisma does not always work. The abrupt transition to violence does not help to make these lonely souls credible. Just the opposite of the marvelous last plan, to literally throw on the floor.

Far from being unanimous (like Lost in Translation) or dividing (like Marie Antoinette), The Beguiled aims at a more consensual area, where the beauty of images sometimes takes precedence over a rickety content. Sofia Coppola remains an entire director of actors and it is they who help to solidify the story and make it as interesting.

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