THE BEGUILED (2017)

6/30/17 - Beguiled (2017) - 7/10

A haunting desperate beauty. The Beguiled is cherubic and ideal, with a moody and morose underbelly. Truly, and angel with a dirty face. It writhes languidly on the edge of the blade separating these dueling natures, rarely overtly mis-stepping but never dipping more than a toe into the bounty beneath. Gorgeous, masterful, and pointed, but with a shallowness that kept me from embracing the seraph in the sky.

Southern melancholic decadence drapes the scenery. There is a creeping decline that dwells at the edges of each frame; as elderly tree branches grasp at the frolicking vitality beneath or the piercing light tries to break through the smokey haze of history about the plantation. These are intuitive necessities to blanket the entirety of what is to be felt and what is to be seen. It is this languid but loaded cinematography that Coppola and cinematographer Philipe Le Sourd excel at, delivering breathtaking shots and propelling the viewers’ interest.

Beguiled is a long drawl of a story that breathes deeply. It is whispers and stolen glances. A tale and character motivations that are forever dancing on the edges of your eyes & mind. Impending sense of lurid dalliances and inevitable downfalls. This palatable dread snakes throughout the film's length, slithering through each shuttered remark and flittered blush. Everyone nails their spots, with Kidman again reigning supreme. She emblazons every word and action with a swallowed breath of emotion and control.

There is a concerted “peering around the door frame” tension, which then gets jostled and shaken into a thunderclap of intensity. Though mostly slow burning coals, the jarring change of the plot and shift in characters could burn you.

As astute and deliberate as The Beguiled is, it does fall into the trappings of Coppola’s previous work. Saying it is superficial isn't quite it. This and other films of hers are like skimming a stone across the gorgeous water without diving deeply into its unknown depths. There is mood, pathos, and a fertile vein with which to mine. But in each of her films, I just feel as though we drift through the scenes, the people, and the plot without full exploration, exposition, or extrapolation. There is a wanting that she cultivates. I forever feel contented by the taste, but a thirst unquenched remains.