Review of The Beguiled (1971) by Chris G — 23 Sep 2008

The Beguiled is the film that taught Clint Eastwood that a man has to know his limitations. The film is about a Union soldier that is found by one of the young schoolgirls that are studying at a boarding school in the south during the Civil War. Regional and sexual tensions ensue as the film builds toward its conclusion of who is the predator and who is the prey.

This is not your typical Clint Eastwood/Don Siegel film. The story is reminiscent of Edgar Alan Poe, a dark, sexy tale about how a mans urges dig him deeper and deeper into trouble. The Beguiled seems to be an attempt at giving Eastwood a more dramatic turn on screen, but the problem is that he doesn't look very comfortable while doing it. The rest of the cast give us great performances as southern girls locked away by the war between the states and Siegel uses the eerie surroundings as an unconscious reminder of what lurks in the school.

The great thing about The Beguiled is that there are no heroes and villains. Everyone is guilty of something throughout the film, which makes the film a great sociology project. It shows us the evil that men (or women) do.