Embodied by Clint Eastwood in Don Siegel’s 1971 version, Corporal McBurney is this time portrayed by the magnetic Colin Farrell.
Under Sofia Coppola’s lens, who skillfully imposes her feminine vision of this story, he is the wounded “yankee” who finds refuge in this girls’ boarding school loyal to the Confederate cause.
The stage is set for this spectacular psychological joust involving this male surrounded by women with diverse personalities. The strict Miss Martha (Nicole Kidman), the melancholic Edwina (Kirsten Dunst), and the fiery Alicia (Elle Fanning).
A fascinating and highly sophisticated spectacle, which – logically – received the Best Director Award at the latest Cannes Film Festival.
The great pleasure provided by The Beguiled 2017 lies in a reunion with a filmmaker remarkably faithful to her obsessions and style.
Leaving the Civil War in the background, the director embraces her exclusive interest in the erotic setup: suspended time, a cloud of desire hovering around the injured man’s bed, but also rivalries and the beginnings of a perverse drama.
The title is plural because it theoretically applies to all the characters, in accordance with the dialectic of prey and predator, akin to that of master and slave. But ultimately, it will be a story of castration, punitive and barely symbolic.
If the law of desire proves cruel for these women (with one exception), the balance of power remains largely in their favor, especially so in this version.
Sofia Coppola showcases resilient and ultimately united heroines. Women who are unsatisfied but powerful.
Nicole Kidman (the headmistress) very much deserves the “special award” received at Cannes.
