Cpl. John McBurney (Colin Farrell) is a Civil War Union soldier (with no real allegiance to the cause, as he’s a mercenary from Australia who accepted $300 to replace a soldier in battle). When his leg is badly wounded, he deserts the army and is found hiding in the woods by Amy (Oona Laurence) a young girl out picking mushrooms. Amy brings him to the all-female Southern boarding school in Virginia where Headmistress Martha Farnsworth (Nicole Kidman) removes the shrapnel from the officer’s leg and sews it up.
While he’s healing, Edwina Dabney, the school’s Teacher (Kirsten Dunst), and students (a handful of beautiful young girls ranging in age from pubescent to older teenager), take care of him and are charmed by his flirtation. Soon, sexual tensions lead to dangerous rivalries as the women tend to his wellbeing and offer him comfort and companionship.
A romance-psychodrama based on The Beguiled by Thomas P. Cullinan, (screenplay written by Sofia Coppola and directed by Sofia Coppola), the subtle expressions by all the exceptional actors, the woodsy background scenery, indoor sets, and gorgeous period costumes set the stage for what could have been a realistic sense of foreboding. However, the characters were ill-defined, the pacing of the scenes were inconsistent, some too slow and others even slower, and the ending disappointingly over-dramatic.
Directed by Sofia Coppola
Based on “The Beguiled” by Thomas P. Cullinan
Cast:
Nicole Kidman – Martha Farnsworth
Colin Farrell – John McBurney
Kirsten Dunst – Edwina Dabney
Elle Fanning – Alicia
Angourie Rice – Jane
Addison Riecke – Marie
Oona Lawrence – Amy
Emma Howard – Emily