The Beguiled (1971)

Genre: Thriller / Drama

Directed by: Don Siegel

Cast: Clint Eastwood, Geraldine Page

Running time: 105 minutes

During the American Civil War, John McBurney, a wounded Union soldier, is found by 12 year old Amy, just outside the gate of the Mississippi seminary school for girls where she is a student. McBurney is brought inside, where headmistress Martha Farmsworth decides to bring him back to health before reporting him to the Confederate troops. Being an isolated man in a house filled with women and girls might be more than the wounded soldier can take.

The action of this film feels a little too static and complacent for a Clint Eastwood movie. The pace is slow, and the story is melodramatic to the max. Some of the acting was okay, but, in other cases, it was over-the-top. There was also that very awkward scene towards the beginning where Eastwood’s character tells a 12 year old girl that she’s old enough to kiss and then plants a smooch on her lips.

Overall, though this film has gotten great reviews in the past, I just did not feel it.

Rating: ««