BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

Numerootno A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Mr_Ectoplasma "The Beguiled" follows John McBurney, a fallen Union soldier in the American Civil War who is reluctantly taken in at a rural girls' school in Mississippi. The headmistress, Martha, agrees to keep him there until his health has been restored. John begins to woo each of the women in the house, but his flirtations and manipulations land him in dangerous territory as the household begins to come apart at the seams.Directed by frequent Eastwood collaborator Don Siegel ("Dirty Harry"), this little-seen but much- loved thriller is a potent blend of Southern Gothic and psychosexual drama. All of its strengths aside (and there are many), "The Beguiled" is one of those rare films that plays a variety of different ways without ever really committing itself to one. It could be read as a meditation on the war, a feminist parable, an outright horror film, or even all three (and more) at once. It never quite leans one way or the other; it's just as much a feminist film as it is anti-feminist; just as much horror as it is drama. The screenplay, based on Thomas Cullinan's novel, is left open-ended. What we have before us is ultimately a character study on sexuality and human desire, and the way it's read it depends on individual perspective.The film begins with a haunting credit montage that plays over disturbing historical photos of the war. Sounds of horses, gunfire, and screaming narrate the credit sequence, which sets a tone of unease and instability from the first frame. The film is saturated with an oppressive Gothic atmosphere that underpins an array of situations between Eastwood and the women in the house— even the lighter (sometimes even darkly humorous) moments hint toward an impending reckless abandon. Moody cinematography accentuates the unease, and several haunting POV shots from Eastwood as he is carried by the women into the house (and later, into the dining room in one of the film's most famous and most violent scene) are unforgettable.Eastwood, who made a career for himself as a hyper-masculine sex bomb in his early years, plays against character—here, he is physically helpless, resorting to emotional manipulation that eventually backfires. His performance is memorable, though his character, despite being the film's center, seems to be given far less screen time in comparison to the rest of the female cast. Geraldine Page gives one of the best performances of her career as the sexually repressed headmistress who has a questionable romantic history. Page is terrifying and at times sympathetic, but, like the film as a whole, can never quite be pinned down, and that's part of her brilliance. Elizabeth Hartman is fantastic as well as the meek schoolteacher who wins Eastwood's affections, and Jo Ann Harris plays a Civil War Lolita who is as devious as she is charming. Pamelyn Ferdin is also striking in her performance as the youngest of the girls, and the catalyst for what brings Eastwood into the house, and eventually, out of itOverall, "The Beguiled" is something of an unsung classic. The strength of its performances alone is enough to warrant multiple viewings, but the ambiguity of its moral stance (if there even is one), and its candid yet dithering narrative make it an even more compelling watch. It's tense, hauntingly beautiful, and also downright unnerving in unexpected ways. Regardless of how it's read, the presentation is flawless. 10/10.

Scott LeBrun "The Beguiled" is certainly unusual - but rewarding - Clint Eastwood fare. It's an extremely sordid melodrama that dips its toes a little into the horror genre. It's extremely well acted, stylishly made - with Clints' frequent collaborator Don Siegel in the directors' chair - and often sexy and sinister in equal measure. It's nice to see Clint take chances like this with his projects, but then he's always been a very interesting leading man. (Another Clint vehicle that's somewhat in this vein is 1984s' "Tightrope".) The period recreation is sound, and there are also doses of sex and gore in this film that earns its R rating.Clint plays Yankee officer John McBurney, severely wounded during the latter days of the Civil War. He's discovered by Amy (Pamelyn Ferdin), a child who escorts him back to her girls' school. The staff, led by Martha (Geraldine Page), agree to keep him there basically for the purpose of nursing him back to health before he can be surrendered to Rebel troops and taken to prison. However, Johns' arrival in this female setting is the trigger for an escalating series of ugly incidents as the male stranger cons his way into the hearts of some of the ladies.Clint is impressive as he puts a smarmy and self-serving spin on his screen charisma. Page and Elizabeth Hartman likewise impressed this viewer with their takes on these vulnerable characters. The child actresses are all good without being overly cutesy. Jo Ann Harris is the sexpot teenager Carol, and Darleen Carr the rigid Doris. Mae Mercer is able to play her slave character of Hallie with dignity, and she really holds her own in confrontations with Clint. Ferdin is appealing in the role of the girl who gets the ball rolling in terms of plot. Melody Thomas Scott (of 'The Young and the Restless' fame) is another of the girls; character actor Matt Clark has a small role.Highly memorable stuff, with very quick flashback cuts that add to the somber quality of this tale by Thomas Cullinan.Eight out of 10.

zardoz-13 "The Beguiled" is about as unusual a Clint Eastwood movie as you are ever watch. This Malpaso-Universal Pictures co-production qualifies as a Gothic melodrama set during the early days of the American Civil War. The setting is the Farnsworth School for Girls in southern Louisiana, not too far from the Mississippi border. To put things into perspective, Confederate troops passing by the school mention to the ladies the imminent battle of Champion Hill. Champion Hill occurred in May 1863 with the Confederating losing it before the eventual loss of Vicksburg that served to cut the South into two sections. Anyway, during a skirmish between Union and Confederate forces, a young soldier with the 66th New York, John McBurney (Clint Eastwood of "Dirty Harry") is wounded. Amy (Pamelyn Ferdin of "The Toolbox Murders") is out scouring the countryside for mushrooms when she stumbles onto him and saves him from capture. The head mistress and owner of the Farnsworth School, Martha (Geraldine Page of "Sweet Bird of Youth"), isn't overjoyed with helping this wounded Yankee. As it turns out, McB—as he prefers to be called—was wounded in the lower right leg. McB's arrival at the school polarizes the six students, one teacher, and the slave Hallie. Martha places McB in the music room, and Hallie (Mae Mercer of "Frogs") and she bathe and shave him. Some of the girls detest McB's presence and consider Martha's action treasonous to the Southern clause, while others just want to take advantage of his masculine presence. Since he is the only man in the house, McBurney decides to capitalize on his sexual prowess and he generates a rivalry between the older lady Martha, her shy teacher Edwina (Elizabeth Hartmann of "Walking Tall") and some of the other young ladies. The outcome is not good as McB discovers to his own chagrin. Don Siegel directs this yarn with considerable subtlety, and visual metaphors abound. The principal visual metaphor is a crow tethered to an upstairs balcony by one leg who is injured. At one point, Siegel superimposes a shot of the crow over a shot of the young Yankee when he is confined to his bed in the music room. All of these women and girls are differentiated so "The Beguiled" possesses characters with depth and difference. McBurney rarely tells the truth about himself because he is terrified that Martha will hand him over to the Confederates and he will wind up in Fayette Prison, the equivalent of Andersonville. At one point, just as Martha is poised to turn McB over to the Confederates, she watches in horror as a wounded Union soldier tries to escape and the Confederates retrieve him without resorting to force. She learns that this abject trooper only wanted a quick death rather than a lingering one in a rebel prison. "The Beguiled" is not conventional in any respect either. At the outset, you get the feeling that something more than is obvious is going on between Martha and her one and only instructor Miss Edwina. As it turns out, Martha not only had an incestuous relationship with her brother, who has gone missing, but also she has feelings for Edwina. After she beds down McB in the music room, she has a dream about having threesome sex with Edwina and McB. During the first third of "The Beguiled," McB acquaints himself with the women, develops a bond with Martha and she refuses to turn him over to the authorities. At one point, he helps her repulse an attack from southern intruders. During the second third, he shares the sheets with three women, and incites Miss Edwina when she catches him with a student. Edwina knocks McB down the spiral stair, splinters his leg, and reopens the wound. Martha has to operate and amputate his leg. This turns McB against the women. Ironically, Edwina forgives him and wants to marry him. McB makes the fatal mistake of striking out at little Amy and killing her turtle Randolph. Amy picks the mushrooms that the ladies cook for him. Indeed, our tough, flinty-eyed hero dies in the end of poisoning, and it is the least of the women who killed him. "The Beguiled" is a fascinating film about complicated relationships. Don't be misled by the opening credits with all the Civil War era photographs.

Jackson Booth-Millard I had no idea what this film was about before I started watching, or the definition of the title (to influence by trickery, flattery, etc.; mislead; delude), only the leading actor and a recommendation to watch it, so I did, directed by Don Siegel (Riot in Cell Block 11, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Dirty Harry, The Shootist, Escape from Alcatraz). Basically during the American Civil War, a twelve year old girl from an all-girl boarding school in Louisiana discovers wounded Yankee soldier Union Corporal John McBurney (Clint Eastwood) in the woods, he was on the verge of death before he is rescued. McBurney is taken the boarding school where his broken leg can heal, he is nursed back to health by school owner Martha Farnsworth (The Rescuers' Geraldine Page) who allows him to stay, the rest of the girls are scared at first, but they soon tend to him, fascinated by a full grown man in close proximity, and he charms them all one by one. The young women are all sexually repressed, and an atmosphere of jealousy and deceit forms, with a few of the girls going after McBurney, including teacher Edwina Dabney (Elizabeth Hartman) who falls in love with him, he manipulates her into thinking he loves her, Martha who he seduces, she misses her brother who helped run the school with her, and older student Carol (Jo Ann Harris) who shows him her affections, she convinces him to make love to her. McBurney is discovered in Carol's room by the headmistress, she wants to make sure he will not return to the Union troops, he falls down the stairs and badly injures his leg, it looks to be potential to develop gangrene, so in a way of comeuppance she takes the drastic decision to amputate his leg, waking and discovering this he goes into a rampage and scares the women. McBurney reforms and announces he wants to marry one of the teachers, but he has already alienated everyone, including the youngest girl who found him, he kills her pet turtle while in a drunken rage, in response the young girl goes to pick mushrooms and the headmistress and girls use these as a way to poison McBurney in the end. Also starring Darleen Carr as Doris, Mae Mercer as Hallie, Pamelyn Ferdin as Amy, Melody Thomas Scott as Abigail, Peggy Drier as Lizzie and Patricia Mattick as Janie. Eastwood gives a different performance to what I am used to, he is gritty and it is closest thing I have seen to him playing a villain, it is a dark story of an injured man tricking many young and vulnerable women into developing feelings towards him for his own gain and in turn creating melodramatic bitchiness, with the war going on in the background, I agree it is a bit misogynistic, and it is rather slow in a few moments, but it is an interesting enough western drama. Worth watching!