Review of Pretty Persuasion (2005) by Lorenzo V — 07 Jul 2010
"Evil comes in a school uniform.".
A 15-year-old girl incites chaos among her friends and a media frenzy when she accuses her drama teacher of sexual harassment.
REVIEW.
The first feature film from director Marcos Siega is off beat as both a comedy and drama. The viewer finds himself in situations of uncomfortable, guilty laughter while at the same time mesmerized by the social topics and excellent acting. The cadence of the dialogue is beyond description and is perfectly displayed at the dinner table with Evan Rachel Woods, her dad played by an over the top James Woods and her new step mom. The family dog plays a big part in the "conversation".
The heart of the story is the devilishly orchestrated false (or are they?) accusations of sexual harassment against drama teacher Ron Livingston. With so many different agendas at play, we can't help but be drawn into to this story on many levels. Jane Krakowski shows a real Priscilla Presley side as the lesbian, glory-hound reporter. Selma Blair is terrific as Livingston's semi-supportive wife.
Make no mistake, the real star of the film, and the reason it works is the extraordinary talents of Evan Rachel Wood. Wood takes teen ego and self-centeredness and revenge to a whole new level. As one of the male teacher's states, her character is the devil. Watching how she manipulates her friends, teachers, boys and adults is quite the guilty pleasure. Very few actresses her age could pull off the role of this complex character.
This review of Pretty Persuasion (2005) was written by Lorenzo V on 07 Jul 2010.
Pretty Persuasion has generally received positive reviews.
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