About The Movie:
When newcomer Lena Duchannes arrives
in the small town of Gatlin, she quickly captures the attention of Ethan Wate,
who only wants to escape what he views as a boring and dead-end town. He
quickly gets more than he bargained for, as Lena possesses strange powers that
have long kept her at a distance from others in her life. Lena and Ethan are
drawn together, but their romance is threatened by the dangers posed by Lena's
being a Caster and her family's Dark powers, for upon her sixteenth birthday
Lena must undergo the Claiming, a process that will decide her fate forever:
Light or Dark.
What Is Good/Bad About The Movie:
Your Twilight alarm may be screaming
at first glimpse of Beautiful Creatures, a supernatural romance between two
teenagers-- one human, one immortal-- who long to be together, and express that
longing in a lot of gorgeous natural locations while scored to modern pop
music. And while the world of Beautiful Creatures is no less absurd than
Twilight, filled with witches called "casters" and curses from the
Civil War and an all-knowing Viola Davis, it possesses a crucial self-awareness
to actually allow you to get in on the fun. It's not always easy to follow the
rules of this new supernatural world, but by not getting caught up in the
details and exploring the giggly thrill of teen romance, Beautiful Creatures is
way more fun than your Twilight-weary soul might imagine.
It starts, surprisingly enough, with
the two attractive young leads, both of whom commit to the high emotions of
romance without forgetting that they're supposed to be, y'know, enjoying each
others' company. Alden Ehrenreich slaps on a syrupy Southern accent to play
Ethan Wate, a sweet-natured kid itching to escape his South Carolina hometown,
but also stuck caring for his dead following his mother's death. He's drawn
immediately to the new girl in town, Lena (Alice Englert), who's staying with
her uncle Macon Ravenwood (Jeremy Irons) in a run-down old mansion that everyone
thinks is haunted (the connection between Macon and To Kill a Mockingbird's Boo
Radley is stated early, one of many hints that Beautiful Creatures is smarter
than it looks). Ethan pursues Lena not with smoldering glances but an easy
smile and a willingness to look silly, and the imperious Lena eventually
softens-- but not before revealing the family secrets that could keep them
apart.
You see, Lena is a caster-- the terms
for witch used in Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl's novels-- and on her approaching
16th birthday she will be "claimed" for either the dark or light
side. In the chaotic group of supporting characters we see both the light side
(Margo Martindale in an insane wig, mainly) and the dark (Emmy Rossum's vampy
Cousin Ridley), and Lena's own dark caster mother Seraphine comes to town,
possesses the body of the local Moral Majority snoop (Emma Thompson) and tries
to meddle in Lena's life enough to make her dark transition a guarantee. On top
of all that, there's also a curse left over from the Civil War that guarantees
that Lena's love for a mortal will make her dark forever. Being 16 ain't easy,
y'all.
When Thompson first appears as the
schoolmarmish yokel she seems wildly out of place, but when she transforms into
Seraphine with one delicious monologue delivered to Irons, she lights a rocket
under the movie and delivers its thesis statement. Yes, all the Southern
accents in this movie are awful. Yes, it's impossible to keep track of which
caster is meddling with Lena in which way. Yes, there are moments where we peek
into Lena's magical world and something completely nonsensical-- like a man
with his entire body painted like clouds-- is presented as if we should
understand it. But even when Beautiful Creatures is nonsense, it is stylish, captivating,
gloriously enjoyable nonsense, with all of its performers well aware of what
they're given. Director Richard LaGravanese, seemingly grateful to have
assembled this kind of cast, lets his actors cut loose, but all are smart
enough not to turn it into a joke. You'll find yourself believing in it all
despite yourself; like the Civil War re-enactments featured in the final action
scene, it all looks insane on the surface, but has a mighty power to suck you
in.
Englert, with her moody eyes and
powerful charisma, is an obvious star in the making, but Ehrenreich matches her
well not in sex appeal, but boy-next-door relatability-- the two of them alone
are worth a sequel to dip back into this loony-tunes world. As a South
Carolinian I think I finally understand what it's been like for Louisianans to
watch True Blood all these years, seeing their culture transformed into
something howling and maybe even offensive. I also can't wait to see it happen
again.
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