100 Movie Challenge 2017 - # 118: The Beguiled

Director: Sofia Coppola
Genre: Drama/ Thriller
Runtime: 94 minutes
Year: 2016
Starring: Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst, Elle Fanning, Oona Laurence, Angourie Rice

Description: The unexpected arrival of a wounded Union soldier (Colin Farrell) at a girls school in Virginia during the American Civil War leads to jealousy and betrayal.

Review: They are no longer helpless and innocent, the women in corsets. Several costume dramas proved that this year. And “The Beguiled” by Sofia Coppola is also one of them, a dramatic thriller with heaps of estrogen.
“The Beguiled” is based on the novel by Thomas Cullinan. In 1971 it was adapted to a movie for the first time, with Clint Eastwood starring as the wounded soldier. Sofia Coppola follows the story of the original film, but it didn’t become a boring repetition of it. Coppola managed to add themes like abalienation and group dynamic to it they way only she can. It’s clear this film was written from a female perspective.
It’s great to see how Coppola managed to let lust and envy be defining for the atmosphere. Especially the scene where the women try to trump each other over apple pie, trying to impress the male guest. The camera work is static and music is minimal, this is typical Sofia Coppola. I always loved her timid way of directing.
Nicole Kidman is very strong as Miss Martha, but Kirsten Dunst and Elle Fanning are also solid. Colin Farrell, the only male performer in “The Beguiled” is also the right choice. He can easily be a charming gentleman and a foulmouthed brute. “The Beguiled” is a really good film, a good film to show off the talents of the women in Hollywood.

Rating: 4,5/ 5

Quotables: "Lost in Translation"

“Lost in Translation” is one of those movies that’s beautiful because of its simplicity. I keep saying this, but this is just the proof that you don’t need a lot to make a great film. Here are the best quotes from “Lost in Translation”. (And now I want to rewatch it….)

Bob: It gets a whole lot more complicated when you have kids.

Charlotte: It's scary.

Bob: The most terrifying day of your life is the day the first one is born.

Charlotte: Nobody ever tells you that.

Bob: Your life, as you know it... is gone. Never to return. But they learn how to walk, and they learn how to talk... and you want to be with them. And they turn out to be the most delightful people you will ever meet in your life.

Charlotte: That's nice.

Charlotte: Let's never come here again because it would never be as much fun.

 

 

 

Bob: I don't want to leave.

Charlotte: So don't. Stay here with me. We'll start a jazz band.

Charlotte: 25 years. That's uh, well it's impressive.

Bob: Well you figure, you sleep one-third of your life, that knocks out eight years of marriage right there. So you're, y'know, down to 16 in change. You know you're just a teenager, at marriage, you can drive it but there's still the occasional accident.

Stills Photographer: You know double-O-7?

Bob: He drinks martinis, but all right.

 

 

 

Charlotte: [Bob is recollecting when he first saw Charlotte, in the elevator] Did I scowl at you?

Bob: No, you smiled.

Charlotte: I did?

Bob: Yes, it was a complete accident. A freak. I haven't seen it since. Just that one time.

[Charlotte smiles]

Bob: Like that, but bigger... bigger... mm-hmm... well, not that big!

Charlotte: You're probably just having a mid-life crisis. Did you buy a Porsche yet?

Charlotte: That was the worst lunch.

Bob: So bad. What kind of restaurant makes you cook your own food?