Slightly pointless remake
- The Beguiled review by LC
Nice cinematrography, and the cast are decent enough, but this ultimately turns out to be a fairly workmanlike remake of the 1971 Clint Eastwood film (which still holds up pretty well). Solid enough, but it doesn't really offer anything new insights or improvements, so it feels like a slightly pointless exercise.
4 out of 4 members found this review helpful.
Underpowered one-note drama
- The Beguiled review by Alphaville
Slow, reserved, painfully painterly remake of the Clint Eastwood film from the point of view of the women. It’s as beautifully observed as you would expect from Sofia Coppola, but there’s nothing else going on. Abrupt shifts of character don’t ring true. Short disconnected scenes bide time but build no momentum. Nothing happens for an hour and when it does it’s entirely predictable even if you haven’t seen the Eastwood original. In any case, the trailer tells you the whole story and, by managing to make it look like a thriller, deserves more kudos than the film itself.
The set is a colonial mansion in pre-electric times and is lit (or not lit) accordingly. Nearly all scenes take place in darkness, shadow and candlelight. A feast for the eyes it isn’t. The DVD Extras show how the scenes actually looked while being filmed, and one wishes for some of that light in the finished version. The darkness adds to the dreariness of the plot and the reserved characterisations. It’s best viewed as a mood piece, but do not watch while feeling sleepy.
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.
Could have been....
- The Beguiled review by CR
Disappointing remake, Nicole Kidman, Colin Farrell and Kirsten Dunst are wasted in this undercooked version. It's been a long time since I've watched the original, but I think the relationships between McBurney and the school residents were definitely explored in more depth 40 plus years ago.
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.
shot in the dark
- The Beguiled review by DR
Filmed in period before electric lights but surely they could have illuminated the set for filming.Hard work watching due to this, would not recommend this film.
0 out of 5 members found this review helpful.
Pointless
- The Beguiled review by LH
I found this film very tedious & uninteresting. I cannot find anything positive to write about it. Very disappointed.
0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.
Kind of boring
- The Beguiled review by CP Customer
Nothing exciting to say about this film. So much could have been made of this film but ended being quite bored of it. Not Sofia's best work
0 out of 1 members found this review helpful.
strong sense of atmosphere
- The Beguiled review by ah
deep south but that was about all - nothing else really came out of it. There was not much character development and the thriller aspect was not at all thrilling.
All the characters were wooden
0 out of 1 members found this review helpful.
Atmospheric Feel was good
- The Beguiled review by KW
the pity was the rest of the film did not live up to it, and the actors were left trying to contrive performances to suit I presume the wishes of the Director! My friend watching with me fell asleep which says it all! Definitely not a thriller!!
0 out of 1 members found this review helpful.
Why do re-makes never work?
- The Beguiled review by CC
Why do re-makes never work? This one carries none of the tension that pervades the Clint Eastwood original, partly because the actor who plays the central role lacks Eastwood's presence, but equally because the central theme has been distorted in order to suit the demands of modern American feminism: whereas the key dynamic of the original was the contest between the women (in a setting in which the Civil War had removed all the other men from the scene) to get hold of the man, in this version it is the way in which the man exploits the women. To add to that, the entire film appears to have been shot in the dark, even the scenes that ostensibly take place outside and in daylight, and whatever the 'authenticity' provided by the lighting available at the time (largely candles), it would have been nice to be able to see what is going on.
Forget it.
0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.
Disappointing
- The Beguiled review by CP Customer
I had been looking forward to this film, how could it be so unsexy with Colin Farrell in this. Formula plot formula acting with flawed editing.
0 out of 1 members found this review helpful.