The Oscars might be over, but the best movies are yet to come. Sophia Coppola is adapting the 1966 Southern Gothic novel of the same title written by Thomas P. Cullinan. It tells the story of a seminary for young ladies in 1864. In the first look, Elle Fanning and Kirsten Dunst look out from the comforts of their gated home.
The Beguiled Movie Details
This is not the first big screen adaptation of the novel. In 1971, Don Siegel directed the first movie adaptation of the gothic novel with Clint Eastwood and Geraldine Paige in the leading roles. This time around, Academy Award winner Nicole Kidman (Moulin Rouge, Eyes Wide Shut) is the headmistress of the secluded seminary.
The 49-year-old plays the role of Martha Fansworth, the headmistress of The Miss Martha Fansworth Seminary for Young Ladies. She has sheltered the women in her care from the world torn by the Civil War. Meanwhile, Colin Farrell (True Detective, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them) is John McBurney, a soldier from the Army Union. When he stumbled to the seminary, he kicked off a series of “seduction and jealousy” among the women.
Fanning will play the role of one of the students. She previously worked with Coppola in Somewhere. The award-winning director’s constant collaborator Dunst signed up as one of the teachers.
Coppola (Lost in Translation) directed the movie as well as penned the screenplay. Academy Award-winner Philippe Le Sourd (The Grandmaster) signed up as its cinematographer. His mastery of the film is evident in the first look published by The Playlist. Stacey Battat, who worked with Coppola in The Bling Ring, was in charge of the costume.
Here is the movie synopsis: “The Beguiled, adapted by Sofia Coppola from Thomas Cullinan’s novel of the same name, unfolds in a girls’ school in the state of Virginia in 1864. As the Civil War rages, The Miss Martha Farnsworth Seminary for Young Ladies has been sheltered from the outside world— until the day a wounded Union soldier is discovered nearby and taken in.”
Coppola On Trying Her Hand At Gothic Movies
In a previous interview with EW, the filmmaker revealed that the movie will switch on the perspective of the soldier to those of the women inside the seminary. She said The Beguiled will center on the dynamic between a group of women who are sheltered from the world outside. Firth’s arrival causes a shift toward the struggle between men and women. “So for me, it’s very universal, but it’s in this exotic setting of the Southern gentility,” she added. Her new movie The Beguiled will open on June 21.
What do you do between scenes on the set of @beguiledmovie? Have fun with snapchat filters, of course! <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/2.2.1/72x72/1f431.png" alt="