The Beguiled, starring Nicole Kidman, Colin Farrell, Kirsten Dunst and Elle Fanning hit theaters in LA and NY last week and will be releasing wide this Friday. I got to screen the movie a couple of weeks ago and now I finally get to share my thoughts with you. If you have already seen the movie, I would love to read your comments in the comment section below. And be sure to check out my interview with Sofia Coppola, Kirsten Dunst and Elle Fanning if you haven’t already.
The Beguiled Trailer
The Beguiled is currently in theaters in NY and LA and releases to a wider audience on Friday. “The Beguiled” is an atmospheric thriller from acclaimed writer/director Sofia Coppola. The story unfolds during the Civil War, at a Southern girls’ boarding school. Its sheltered young women take in an injured enemy soldier. As they provide refuge and tend to his wounds, the house is taken over with sexual tension and dangerous rivalries, and taboos are broken in an unexpected turn of events.
My Thoughts On The Beguiled
After screening Sofia Coppola’s version of The Beguiled, I came home and watched the 1971 version starring Clint Eastwood. So, I will be comparing and contrasting the two in this review as I feel there have been some very important changes in the 2017 version. There are spoilers, but I tried to keep them to a minimum.
The Beguiled [1971]
First things first, I didn’t love the 1971 version starring Clint Eastwood. Sorry. I mean, it’s ok, but I didn’t really feel an attachment to any of the characters emotionally. Clint Eastwood’s character was a borderline pedophile and Miss Martha had a really weird relationship with her brother – none of which was vital to the story, in my opinion. Maybe it was added in for shock value. I mean, I think this particular version of The Beguiled should have been a much longer movie if they were going to delve into so many unrelated, yet complicated matters. The Beguiled [1971] touched lightly on the topics of pedophilia, incest, casualties of war due to rogue soldiers, women’s causes during the war, slavery and more. Any of these topics would have been enough to hold a movie on their own merit and interest value but were too much to cover in any real detail in this one regular length movie. Again, the movie was ok, but I probably would not watch it again.
The Beguiled [2017]
And that is why I love Sofia Coppola’s version. I think she took something with potential, cleaned it up, and made it into a very intriguing story that more people can relate to. I was really interested in the characters in her movie because they were far more developed individually. She took out all of the distracting and unnecessary plot lines and formed one very compelling story. I like that the 2017 version of The Beguiled was focused more on the human emotions one would expect that these women would experience during the Civil War: the fear and the sexual tension. I also had empathy for everyone involved at some point during the movie. They were all humans stuck in an unimaginably difficult situation, dealing with their circumstances the best way they knew how.
All of the casting was perfect, in particular Colin Farrell and Kirsten Dunst. I didn’t know that Kirsten Dunst could play it so demure and serious all at once. I loved her acting work before but I am even more of a fan now. And Colin Farrell was so easy to despise and still love at the same time. The turtle scene made me want to tear him limb from limb but I still found myself empathizing with him during most of the remainder movie. So many emotions.
I say skip the first version unless you are just a die hard Clint Eastwood fan and go see Sofia Coppola’s version instead. I plan on seeing it again myself as soon as it comes to the theater in my area. 🙂
After all this seriousness, would you like to see something funny? Check out the ladies joking around on set in 1860s Girls Gone Wild.
That sounds like a movie that my husband would like actually. I am going to have to tell him about this!!
This sounds like a great film and im glad there is an improvement from the original one. I’ll be looking out for it at my local cinema!
I really want to see this. I love all the actors and actresses in it, and the story sounds amazing.
The trailer for this one hooked me immediately. I’m very interested in why he was screaming, “What did you do to me!” Hmmm…
My heart was pounding after watching the movie clip! I don’t usually like suspenseful movies, but wow! This one looks good!
It is interesting to compare the two movies and surprising The Easrtwood version was not so good for you. I will have to compare for myself so I will look for this when it comes out near me.
I have seen previews for this and I want to see it! It looks really good. I will definitely be going to see it now!
I would love to see this movie! I missed the previews in NY because of the end of school, but it is on my list when I catch up on my movies!
Thanks!
I can’t wait to see this movie! I do love Nicole Kidman and Kirsten Dunst and after reading your review it definitely seems right up my alley!
I can’t wait to watch this movie. It looks fantastic.
i havent seen this movie and honestly after reading this i cannot wait to see it even more than before. it looks fantastic. Nicole kidman is such an amazing actress.
This looks like an awesome movie. Some great actresses too! I just may have to check it out.
So good to know that you enjoyed seeing the 2017 version of the film. I have always been curious and I’m quite excited to see it. I’m sure Sofia did an amazing job!
I will have to definitely check this out! Looks like a great film. There are way too many good movies coming out all at once!
I haven’t seen either one, but will wait for it to hit cable or Netflix, I may be becoming a hermit but I will neither confirm nor deny this theory! LOL 🙂
I am now curious about this, i am so looking forward for the 2017 version. Saving this to my watch list. Thank you
I Have been seeing commercials for Beguiled and I am interested in seeing it. It sounds like a great movie with a lot of emotion.
The Beguiled plays at my film society this weekend so I look forward to seeing it. I appreciate any movie that has good female characters since Hollywood is usually so dominated by men. Didn’t know there was a 1971 version!
This sounds like such a good casting, and I’m glad you prefered this version to the original x
I am dying to see this! I had no idea that there was an older version. It looks so good! I will have to get to the theater this Friday to see it!
This looks like an interesting movie. Especially with kirsten dunst. I love her.
I’ve heard of this movie, but haven’t seen it yet. I would love to check it out!
I briefly remember seeing the 1971 version and finding it a bit odd. I’m still on the fence about the new version. I love the actors and the director so I’m curious to see how the new movie plays out.
This trailer keeps popping up in my Snapchat feed and I actually have enjoyed watching it. The movie looks so great with a wonderful cast.
I really like Kirsten Dunst. I can see how she would be perfect for the part.
The movie is on our watch list. Hubby tells me that I would like it. Looking forward to this one.
Looks like a really interesting film. I am a big fan of Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman and Kirsten Dunst. To have all three of them in a movie is totally exciting. Can’t wait to see this!
This really looks an Interesting movie and I would love to see this I’m sure my sister would love this too
This will be a good choice. We were planning for a different activities this weekend but I bet, this will make a great option on a warm summer day. I am excited.
Thank you for the heads up and the teaser of the movie. I am excited to see this movie. The plot promises lots of twists and turns. I would love to see how the lives of these women was turned upside down because of one man.
I’ve been so curious about this film for some time now! It’s definitely crazy interesting and I wasn’t able to catch the first version of the movie. Thanks to your review though! This one’s a must see.
I have heard some great things about this movie. I think I will be checking it out. I am a huge fan of Nicole Kidman, so I would love to see how well she does in this. Sounds great!
Colin Farrell is definitely easy to love and hate in the same movie! I can’t wait to see this! I didn’t actually realize there was an older version.
I am dying to see this! I have been watching all of the previews and I think my husband is even interested in watching it with me! I can’t wait!
I have seen the trailers for this movie and it looked interesting. I’m glad you enjoyed it so much. It’s cool to see Kirsten Dunst come from stuff like Small Soldiers up to headlining a big release like this.
I love period movies, and the cast in this is wonderful. “Colin Farrell was so easy to despise and still love at the same time.” Well-developed characters and conflicting emotions go a long way toward making a compelling story-line.
I will have to add The Beguiled to my list of must see movies. I have not seen the older version either. The trailer was fantastic.