'The Beguiled' Release Date News: Sofia Coppola's Presentation Far from 1st Film's Storytelling
Sofia Coppola's film "The Beguiled" is based on a novel by Thomas Cullinan and is a remake of the 1971 movie of the same title. However, the Cannes Film Festival best director has a different approach to the film. The film was set during the Civil War featuring a Northern soldier cared for by Southern women.
The movie is based on Cullinan's novel but there are major deviations in Coppola's version. The black housemaid (played by Mae Mercer in the 1971 movie) was cut from the second version, as reported by Slate. Mixed-raced character Edwina in the original movie was turned into a white teacher played by Kirsten Dunst.
Coppola was asked why she omitted the black character and her reason was valid but many still did not forgive her for doing so. In the novel, it was a major part. She said that she does not want black people to be depicted as enslaved and of low status in her film.
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The 46-year-old director was able to narrate the story from a male perspective to a female one. "The Beguiled" doesn't show the southern-gothic kick of the original film, according to Vulture. It is not a horror movie, which was initially conveyed during the first look. The movie, which was selected to be shown at the Cannes Film Festival, did not elaborate on the lives of the women. The focus was on their competition to win the soldier.
The film reportedly failed to present the real situation of slavery during those times, like how they escaped from their enslavers, fought to escape, and died along the way. Coppola in fact omitted this part of the novel and the original film.
"The Beguiled" is about a Union soldier John McBurney (Colin Farrell) who got wounded and was taken into a girl's seminary. His presence changed the lives of the seven women in the seminary, especially the head of the household, Martha (Nicole Kidman). Edwina (Dunst) and the teenager Alicia (Elle Fanning) were greatly affected by McBurney's presence. Almost all of the women competed against each other to get the soldier's affection. The tension later erupted into unmeasured havoc.
