The Beguiled

R

Released Mar 31, 1971

1 hr. 49 min.

History

Drama

List

90%

21 Reviews

Tomatometer

72%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Offbeat Civil War drama in which a wounded Yankee soldier, after finding refuge in an isolated girls' school in the South towards the end of the war, becomes the object of the young women's sexual fantasies. The soldier manipulates the situation for his own gratification, but when he refuses to completely comply with the girls' wishes, they make it very difficult for him to leave.

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Alec B

At first glance, its easy to see why both Siegel and Eastwood were attracted to the material but the final product is quite unique in both of their filmographies. It's a melodrama and also a sexual thriller but one that's ultimately focused on fantasy/memory. I can see why it bombed, by the bleak ending the movie has alienated just about every potential mainstream audience member.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/03/24

Full Review

Tera K

This is one of my favorite films of all time! It's perfect in every way, the performances are great and it's just so much fun!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/13/23

Full Review

Logan M

One of the oddest and most disturbing films Eastwood has ever made. Also one of the best.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

06/03/23

Full Review

isla s

First off, I thought this was much better than the recent remake. It is quite sinister and has a more tense feeling than I think the newer version had. Its quite unsettling, with the actions of the young women, going behind each others backs, being quite intriguing. Eastwood gives a fairly solid performance as the main character, the injured soldier who is quite mysterious and does appear to have some perhaps not entirely admirable intentions. Its one of those films in which the scenes where little is said are maybe more noticeable and tells the viewer more than those in which there is a lot of dialogue. I liked the incidental music, it does well at enforcing the tense and unsettled atmosphere and makes the viewer feel perhaps a little more edgy, as well as putting across a sense of claustrophobia. Its interesting in terms of the psychology, with various characters clearly going behind others backs, perhaps seeking different things. This is quite a thoughtful and subtle but sinister film, although it is somewhat slow, its not what I'd consider a traditional scary film, or even necessarily a 'regular' psychological drama. Its mostly a slow thriller or a drama with a good undercurrent I suppose. I'd recommend this film, yes.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

William L

Just a heads up, Clint Eastwood asks a girl her age and then kisses her once she responds with "twelve", calling it "old enough for kissing". That's how the movie STARTS. I realize it's the South dude but c'mon. While it's often more heavy-handed (and lands lightly) when diving into theme alone, The Beguiled is a surprisingly dark film, particularly for Eastwood at this early point in his career. The shock value alone associated with a Southern Gothic tale that moves from courtesy to sexual desire (notably, from the feminine perspective, if exaggerated at points) and ultimately to emotional discord and violent confrontations is enough reason to give this unusual film a watch. There is a very interesting contrast in character development at play, with individuals shedding their more empathetic qualities at a moment's notice (though Siegel's need to provide otherwise unknowable context through flashbacks actually comes off as a weakness; the omnipotence doesn't really serve the audience here). Each individual harbors their own (often self-serving) desires, and maintains their own means of accomplishing their ends that slowly emerge as cracks form in the masks of Southern charm and gentility. While it's not a perfect film and can be rather on-the-nose, The Beguiled is still a very interesting and distinctive narrative that you wouldn't expect Eastwood or Universal to undertake in 1971 (and you'd be partly right; it flopped b/c Universal had no clue how to market it effectively). (3.5/5)

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

06/11/22

Full Review

r 9

Undeniably creepy. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about 'The Beguiled', though. It's definitely one of the more bizarre films that I've seen, intentionally so of course. I'm just not convinced if it's a good film though, it does do a grand job at making the viewer feel uncomfortable but beyond that I'm not sold. Take out the oddness and there's not much there, I feel. With that said, it undoubtedly leaves an imprint and does what it intends to so I guess it levels out to be something worth watching. Clint Eastwood gives an almost eerily convincing performance, while those behind him are all solid - with the standouts, to me, being Geraldine Page and Mae Mercer. It's certainly 'out there', you gotta give it that. Overall I have mixed feelings, but I am leaning closer to positive than negative.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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Don Siegel

Director

Clint Eastwood

John McBurney

Geraldine Page

Martha

Elizabeth Hartman

Edwina

Jo Ann Harris

Carol

Darleen Carr

Doris

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Richard Brody

New Yorker

The story may sometimes come off as a ribald soldiers' tale that Siegel ... had been awaiting a sexual revolution to tell; still, his intense, intelligent breakdown of the film's wild outbursts reveals subtleties of love, despair, and shame ...

Jun 26, 2017

Full Review

Jason Bailey

Flavorwire

A rather daring experiment in subverting audience empathy - almost an art-house 'I Spit On Your Grave,' in which the assault/revenge elements that may satisfy one half of the audience will probably piss off the other, and then vice versa.

Jun 8, 2017

Full Review

Rob Gonsalves

Rob's Movie Vault

It has an eerie power and unsettling Gothic gloom that keep it riveting until the finish.

Rated: B+

Nov 29, 2022

Full Review

Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

The filmmaking and sheer oddity of everything onscreen remain compulsively watchable.

Rated: 3/4

Mar 23, 2022

Full Review

James Clay

Fresh Fiction

THE BEGUILED is an excellent film and surprisingly weird in the ways that provoke thought about sexual repression and the mental effects of war on the front lines and those shielded from society.

Rated: A-

Nov 19, 2020

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Its status as one of Eastwood's most intriguing works remains undisturbed.

Rated: 3.5/4

Nov 14, 2020

Full Review

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Synopsis

Offbeat Civil War drama in which a wounded Yankee soldier, after finding refuge in an isolated girls' school in the South towards the end of the war, becomes the object of the young women's sexual fantasies. The soldier manipulates the situation for his own gratification, but when he refuses to completely comply with the girls' wishes, they make it very difficult for him to leave.

Director: Don Siegel
Screenwriter: Albert Maltz, Irene Kamp
Production Co: Malpaso Company
Rating: R
Genre: History, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 31, 1971, Original
Release Date (Streaming): May 8, 2015

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