The Beguiled - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

The Beguiled

Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score: ​

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Movie
The Beguiled is firmly emblazoned into my mind as one of the creepiest and most bizarre Clint Eastwood films that I had ever seen, and still remains disturbing (although flawed) to this day. It marked another collaboration between famed film make Don Siegel and Eastwood, adapting a novel from Thomas Cullinan of the same name. The film was heavily steeped in Gothic horror and southern Gothic visuals, but was an awkward film that really starts to fall apart near the beginning of the third act. Despite its flaws the movie has remained a must watch due to the fact that Clint Eastwood stepped outside of his comfort zone to dip himself into one of his rare roles as a contemptible villain. A roll which is made all the more visceral and disturbing due to the elements of predatory male dominance and the hidden evil in the hearts of children. Something which is more than a bit discomforting to the average person. Sofia Copolla decides to remake the same source material, almost mimicking the Siegel and Eastwood film word for word in many instances, but neutering the more excessive elements of the story, effectively dropping the tension and terror of the film to near zilch.

A year before the final cease fire of the Civil War, a young girl in Virginia named Amy (Oona Laurence) comes upon a wounded Yankee soldier by the name of Corporal McBurney (Colin Farrell) lying in a ditch on her way to pick mushrooms. Dragging the wounded soldier back to her all girls school, the young girl pleads with the school marm, Miss Martha (Nicole Kidman) to spare his life by not telling the Confederate patrols of his presence. Taking pity on the young man, Miss Martha allows the young girls to take care of and nurse the handsome soldier back to health. McBurney is a bit of an enigma to the women. He seems very polite and kind to each and every one of them, despite being a soldier who is intent on killing their husbands, father’s and relatives.

As the soldier’s health gets close to normal, he forms a bond with the school mistress’s second in command, Edwina (Kirsten Dunst), and vows to take her away from the way and escape into the North together. However, the duplicitous nature of the Union soldier comes to light when Edwina catches him in an amorous situation with the younger Alicia, and in the upcoming conflict sends him spinning down the stairs, re-opening all the old wounds that were just barely healed. Now the darker side of both women and soldier alike bubble to the surface, with the bitter Corporal taking out all of his hatred and pent up anger on the women, effectively cowing them to his very will. The only thing is, these desperate young women aren’t so cowed as he thinks, leading to a chilling conclusion that reveals that man is not the only sex to hold dominance over evil natures.

For a while I had a hard time putting my finger down on WHY I was so underwhelmed by Sofia Coppola’s adaptation of the Cullinan book. It hit just about every beat of the 1971 Clint Eastwood film, but feels surprisingly lacking nonetheless. Then it hit me. While the movie has a distinct flair and vibe to it that is VERY Gothic and period piece friendly, it lacks the really disturbing excesses that made the Eastwood film so disturbing and almost revolting in nature. I usually don’t think that excess is a necessity in films, but part of the very texture and terror of the original Beguiled stemmed from the sickening excesses of the film. While the Corporal diddles around with the varying love interests, it doesn’t hold the same sense of leering predatory evil that Eastwood portrayed, and much of the more disturbing content is left out. This effectively neuters the Gothic horror of the film and just...well...unfolds like a typical period piece drama.

The final 30 minutes tries to amp up the volume with the angry version of Corporal McBurney, but Colin Farrell just comes across as ticked off rather than deliberately evil or predatory. Nicole Kidman lacks the stiff and proper (but highly repressed) nature of Geraldine Page, and Kirsten Dunst lacks the young innocence and naivety of Elizabeth Harman. All in all everyone plays the parts well, but those little excesses and repressed sexuality of the female casts is nearly completely left out, stealing the thunder and intentions of the actors. I’m not sure why Sofia did this, but The Beguiled is a rather tame and mediocre film that just unfolds a tale without emotion and tension, which is not exactly the desire when you’re making a Gotchic tale of suspense and disturbing horror.




Rating:

Rated R for some sexuality



Video:

Sofia Coppola has made the decision to frame the 35mm shot film in the odd aspect ratio of 1.66:1, and it seems to actually fit the period piece quite well. There’s a sense of height that is excellently balanced with the near 1.78:1 width that makes it feel a bit old and musty. The film has been graded with a light earthy tone that, combined with the pastel colors of the period, gives a word and faded look that reminds one of the old photographs of the civil war. Those without a strong panel that does black well may find this a bit frustrating, as the dimly lit film is bathed in chocolate brown black levels (due to the color grading more than an encode issue) and lower quality sets are going to have a HARD time deciphering the detail. This isn’t something I really fault the encode over, it’s just that the film is stylized in such a way that better quality panels or projectors are really tested to their limits and the rest will naturally have their problems with the lower light levels and chocolate browns of the shoots imagery. Detail is usually excellent, but there’s a softness to the picture which presents itself as if there is a thin layer of gauze over the film lightly grainy look. It’s a very solid encode, but one that has been HIGHLY stylized to not be as razor sharp or demo worthy as your average summer blockbuster.





Audio:

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA track is what you would expect for a dramatic film of this style. It’s mostly subdued, with dialog as the main focus in the track, coupled with a few moments of explosive activity that spices up the surround channels and LFE. You can hear the rabble and action of the civil war battles off in the distance of the school, which livens up the film a bit, but most of the time we have subtle and soft musical tones that wind in and out of the dialog centric film. The Score by French rock group “Phoenix” is sparse and rather limited, but it is effective amid the simple dialog and ambient sound effects of the southern style school. It’s not wildly exciting or visceral, but the 5.1 mix is competent and does everything asked of it without any complaints or technical issues.




Extras:

• A Shift in Perspective - Featurette
• A Southern Style - Featurette

Final Score: ​

The Beguiled is a rather tepid remake of a decent Clint Eastwood film, but it is one of those movies that begs the question “why?” more than anything. Coppola doesn’t get deep into the Gothic horror and drama that Clint Eastwood’s film was known for, and strays a bit too far from the novel for comfort, in my opinion. I usually don’t say that creepy advances on young girl and the like is a good thing, but it was the fuel for the discomfort and terror in the original film/book, and this movie neuters the disturbing portions so thoroughly that it’s hard to feel anything besides boredom for Coppola’s attempt at the tale. The movie is competent enough, but shifts points of view several times and becomes a bit too artsy for its own good. The audio and video are solid, but combined with the film’s very low special features and a rather mediocre presentation, I would leave this one as a rental.




Technical Specifications:

Starring: Kirsten Dunst, Colin Farell,Nicole Kidman, Elle Fanning
Directed by: Sofia Coppola
Written by: Sofia Coppola (Screenplay), Thomas Cullinan (Novel)
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, Spanish, French DTS 5.1
Studio: Universal
Rated: R
Runtime: 94 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: October 10th, 2017

Image

• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Rental

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. I will stick to the Eastwood version.