Beautiful Creatures (B- or 2.5/4 stars)
'Beautiful Creatures' (directed & adapted from a Young Adult novel by Richard LaGravenese) tells a tale of 2 star-crossed lovers: Ethan (Alden Ehrenreich), a 17 yr. old longing to escape his small town after high school lets out, and Lena (Alice Englert, daughter of Oscar-winning filmmaker Jane Campion), a mysterious new girl in town. Together, they uncover deep dark secrets about each other's families, their checkered history, & their Southern-fried town of Gatlin, South Carolina. There are hateful rumors flying around town that Lena & her family has strange, supernatural powers. And it doesn't take long for Ethan to realize that the rumors are actually true. Lena & her female folk are, indeed, witches; her male folk are warlocks.
Upon Lena's fast-approaching 16th birthday, she will then find out if she's destined to be a good witch (or "canter", as she calls them), or a bad witch. Romance, intrigue, dark magic, wild costumes, flashbacks to the Civil War (see the film to understand), special effects, surprising deaths, & teen-angst melodrama ensues. Although I'd never heard of them before, Ehrenrich & Englert are both quite good & possess the key element that any young romance needs - chemistry. In fact, Beautiful Creatures' best scenes occur early on where we witness Ethan & Lena quietly falling in love. The exchanges btwn. them are sharp, sweet, & smarter than your typical drippy teen romance dialogues. They look, feel, & sound natural.
As for the other characters, they are played by a host of well-knowns: Jeremy Irons as Lena's enigmatic uncle, Macon Ravenwood; Emma Thompson as local religious zealot Mrs. Lincoln/a witch named Sarafine; Viola Davis as Amma, Ethan's longtime housekeeper; & Eileen Atkins as Lena's pink-haired grandmother. I enjoyed seeing classical Brits like Irons & Thompson sink their teeth into a Deep South dialect & chew the scenery with relish. i.e., picture Emma Thompson blabbering on, ending sentences with the like of "Well now bless yowuur little heart, shoo-gah" {haha}.
So yeah, 'Beautiful Creatures' starts strong but loses some steam the more it goes. When matters become more narrative-driven, the appeal of all the warm-blooded central love story, the interpersonal relationships, & the wonderful gothic atmosphere shifts to the background; and the focus becomes the cosmic choice that Lena faces upon her 16th birthday. Her uncle (Irons) & several other family members try to guide her towards the light side, while her mother & cousin (Thompson, and a delicious Emmy Rossum) advocate that she embrace the dark side. There's also a 150 yr. old curse involved, and Ethan - as a mortal in love with Lena - is a most unwelcome element in the grand scheme of things. Lena's undeniable passion for him makes him a target in this unholy supernatural mess that they're all involved in.
Now, the light witch/dark witch plot points didn't bore me, per say, but it's a familiar element that did not get any kind of special treatment. In other words, the supernatural elements needed more flare, more ... something. The movie tries to do a few edgy things, but never really commits to them. The epic climax btwn. darkness & light should have rocked our (and Lena's) world. Instead, it underwhelms; just a poorly executed special effect fight btwn. Lena & Mommie Dearest.
So I'm very B-/C+ on 'Beautiful Creatures'. The film's strong suits are the romance & the dialogue that snaps/pops. I ate up the stylish, evocative Southern gothic setting. But those supernatural goings-on are a bit silly, a bit clunky, and are not as effective or interesting as they should be. The movie gets more yawn-worthy as it goes. The magic/wizardry needed better treatment, period. You know, this movie will be directly compared to the Twilight movies because of their Young Adult appeal. And the sad part is: THIS movie is better than the Twilights, yet also lacks the je ne sais quoi potency of those very films. And while I would like to see what happens to the surviving characters in this 'intended' saga, I believe that the disappointing box office results for this film will prevent sequels.
Upon Lena's fast-approaching 16th birthday, she will then find out if she's destined to be a good witch (or "canter", as she calls them), or a bad witch. Romance, intrigue, dark magic, wild costumes, flashbacks to the Civil War (see the film to understand), special effects, surprising deaths, & teen-angst melodrama ensues. Although I'd never heard of them before, Ehrenrich & Englert are both quite good & possess the key element that any young romance needs - chemistry. In fact, Beautiful Creatures' best scenes occur early on where we witness Ethan & Lena quietly falling in love. The exchanges btwn. them are sharp, sweet, & smarter than your typical drippy teen romance dialogues. They look, feel, & sound natural.
As for the other characters, they are played by a host of well-knowns: Jeremy Irons as Lena's enigmatic uncle, Macon Ravenwood; Emma Thompson as local religious zealot Mrs. Lincoln/a witch named Sarafine; Viola Davis as Amma, Ethan's longtime housekeeper; & Eileen Atkins as Lena's pink-haired grandmother. I enjoyed seeing classical Brits like Irons & Thompson sink their teeth into a Deep South dialect & chew the scenery with relish. i.e., picture Emma Thompson blabbering on, ending sentences with the like of "Well now bless yowuur little heart, shoo-gah" {haha}.
So yeah, 'Beautiful Creatures' starts strong but loses some steam the more it goes. When matters become more narrative-driven, the appeal of all the warm-blooded central love story, the interpersonal relationships, & the wonderful gothic atmosphere shifts to the background; and the focus becomes the cosmic choice that Lena faces upon her 16th birthday. Her uncle (Irons) & several other family members try to guide her towards the light side, while her mother & cousin (Thompson, and a delicious Emmy Rossum) advocate that she embrace the dark side. There's also a 150 yr. old curse involved, and Ethan - as a mortal in love with Lena - is a most unwelcome element in the grand scheme of things. Lena's undeniable passion for him makes him a target in this unholy supernatural mess that they're all involved in.
Now, the light witch/dark witch plot points didn't bore me, per say, but it's a familiar element that did not get any kind of special treatment. In other words, the supernatural elements needed more flare, more ... something. The movie tries to do a few edgy things, but never really commits to them. The epic climax btwn. darkness & light should have rocked our (and Lena's) world. Instead, it underwhelms; just a poorly executed special effect fight btwn. Lena & Mommie Dearest.
So I'm very B-/C+ on 'Beautiful Creatures'. The film's strong suits are the romance & the dialogue that snaps/pops. I ate up the stylish, evocative Southern gothic setting. But those supernatural goings-on are a bit silly, a bit clunky, and are not as effective or interesting as they should be. The movie gets more yawn-worthy as it goes. The magic/wizardry needed better treatment, period. You know, this movie will be directly compared to the Twilight movies because of their Young Adult appeal. And the sad part is: THIS movie is better than the Twilights, yet also lacks the je ne sais quoi potency of those very films. And while I would like to see what happens to the surviving characters in this 'intended' saga, I believe that the disappointing box office results for this film will prevent sequels.