5 Out of 5 Stars
American Gothic meets Instagram in Sofia Coppola’s lush and intimate take on The Beguiled, the 1966 novel written by Thomas P. Cullinan. The film already won Coppola Best Director at Cannes making her the first woman to win in 56 years and has the director flipping the novel’s gender perspective in the book to give us a different take on the source. The film opens in Philadelphia this week screening exclusively at the Ritz Five.

Taking place in Virginia, 3 years into the Civil War, The Beguiled is the story of a wounded Union deserter, Corporal John McBurney (Colin Farrell) who is rescued and takes refuge in the Farnsworth Women’s Seminary. The handful of girls left behind at the school are looked after by Miss Martha (Nicole Kidman) and Edwina Dabney (Kirsten Dunst) who both seemingly fall for the handsome soldier’s charms. While at first the women are apprehensive while still having the best of intentions, McBurney’s presence is like a breath of fresh air to the women who have been shut in together for 3 years. Relationships in the house begin to fracture as the soldier’s true intentions begin to surface.

The Beguiled has Coppola once again teaming up with frequent muse Kirsten Dunst to tell a story that is filled with wit, understated tension and humor, which culminates in a glorious unexpected third act. Kidman and Dunst are stunning together with an awkward chemistry, but have their work cut out for them when Elle Fanning who plays Alicia enters fold also looking to garner the good Corporal’s favor. The Beguiled while telling a story set in a very different time, still empowers the women on screen as they drown the Corporal in their overbearing Southern Hospitality. The tension just continues to build between the foursome, which begins to feel like a powder keg waiting to explode by the end of the second act when the soldier is finally asked to leave.


Coppola has out done herself with her gorgeous pastel colored vision of the south populated by psychotic Southern Belles. Each woman projects something different onto the Corporal and part of the fun is watching how he works to cultivate these relationships between each woman in the house. The film is a sublime period piece that has the director turning in a film that will surely be a contender come awards season. It’s easily Coppola’s best efforts since Lost in Translation as she brings together a flawless ensemble in this period piece that once again illustrates the fact that hell hath no fury like a house full of women scorned.