Director: Sofia Coppola

Cast: Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst, Elle Fanning, Colin Farrell

FILM INFO: 93min, USA, 2017, Cert: 15a

Sophia Coppola won the best director award at the Cannes Film Festival for her revamp of Don Siegel‘s 1971 film. Coppola crafts an atmosphere of dreaminess and softness, where repressed desires surface in this Southern Gothic tale of female sexual jealousy. Set in 1864 during the American Civil War in the sun-dappled state of Virginia, a wounded Union soldier (Colin Farrell) is given shelter within an all-female boarding school. His allure soon awakens sexual feelings in Marta (Nicole Kidman), Edwina (Kirsten Dunst) and Alicia (Elle Fanning). Placing the seven women of the boarding house and their potent desires at it centre, The Beguiled builds to a deadly conclusion. With vivid and invested performances, Coppola has crafted a sumptuously provoking film.

Festivals: Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2017 Cannes Film Festival 2017 Los Angeles Film Festival 2017 Munich International Film Festival 2017 Sydney Film Festival 2017 Awards: Best Director Cannes Film Festival 2017