Die Verführten (2017)

Die Verführten: Directed by Sofia Coppola. With Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst, Elle Fanning. The unexpected arrival of a wounded Union soldier at a girls school in Virginia during the American Civil War leads to jealousy and betrayal.

“u0026quot;Itu0026#39;s seems the enemy… itu0026#39;s not what we believed.u0026quot; Martha (Nicole Kidman)u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI confess to a weakness for Faulkner, Flannery Ou0026#39;Connor, and Rod Serling (Twilight Zone), all of whom have an affinity for the Gothic, ironic, and societal decay. Throw in a girlsu0026#39; school like the one in Picnic at Hanging Rock, replete with emerging girl/women and impregnable mores:Iu0026#39;m at home with this melodrama and mood.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eReady-made for me, then, is Sofia Coppolau0026#39;s The Beguiled, remade from an early version starring Clint Eastwood, a cautionary tale told in the South during The Civil War, where the enemy is not always a soldier, even if he comes in a Union uniform. When wounded union soldier Corporal McBurney (Colin Farrell) is treated at the decaying girlsu0026#39; school, headed by strong-headed Martha, some of the girls and a teacher Edwina (Kirsten Dunst)find him an attractive curiosity. Trouble is only an afternoon tea away.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAlthough it looks like a sweet setup for a handsome corporal, the ladies are ready to test his manhood and Southern independence in figurative and visceral ways. Like Picnic, the metaphors are not hidden far, and the twist at the end is fully Serlingesque because it carries the moral force of acceptable norms and the iniquity of revenge. Yes, this is Southern Gothic done well.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBesides Coppolau0026#39;s certifiable interest in feminine beauty and its evanescence, the tale is genuinely suspenseful because we begin to see the ladies not as vulnerable as we once thought; we realize the war between North and South is not just muskets and slaves. Indeed, except for a passing comment, Coppola keeps the slavery cause of the horrific struggle to the side while she explores the machinations of desire and revenge.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIn other words, The Beguiled will beguile you while you try to figure who exactly is beguiled here, soldier or ladies. Maybe both? You are entering the Twilight Zone . . . .u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026quot;Youu0026#39;re our most unwelcome visitor, and we do not propose to entertain you.u0026quot; Martha”