By Nick Nicholson
Richard LaGravenese is back in the director’s chair helming the supernatural love story Beautiful Creatures, the first novel from the best-selling series of the same name by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. The film opens up with its teen star, Ethan Wate (Alden Ehrenreich), suffering from the same recurring dream. A young woman is waiting for him on a Civil War battlefield. As he desperately attempts to reach her, he is killed by a lightning bolt crack ala Groundhog Day…over and over again. The danger of this strange dream world, however, is preferable to Ethan’s waking existence in Gatlin, South Carolina, a small, conservative Southern town that hasn’t caught up to the 21st century. It is a place where nothing ever changes and nothing ever happens. Trapped at home with a father who has completely withdrawn since the sudden death of Ethan’s mother, Ethan yearns for a life he can only read about in books.
But Ethan’s mundane world is shaken with the arrival of Lena Duchannes (Alice Englert), the beautiful and enigmatic niece of Macon Ravenwood (Jeremy Irons), the reclusive owner of gothic Ravenwood Manor. Ethan finds himself immediately drawn to Lena, even though destruction seems to inexplicably follow her and it becomes apparent that she is a Caster, with powers beyond her control. The town, led by conservative Mrs. Lincoln (Emma Thompson), wants her banished. Even Gatlin’s all-knowing librarian, Amma (Viola Davis), is afraid history may repeat itself – a history of family secrets and a curse that looms for Lena – as she approaches her 16th birthday. It is that time when a Caster is chosen by the forces of either the Light or the Dark. But Lena’s fate may already be sealed by the curse that draws both herself and Ethan into a tangled web of spells and peril from which there may be no escape.
At first glance, Beautiful Creatures seems quite similar to a number of the tweener film series that have hit the big screen, most notably that of the Twilight genre. Yes, there are similarities, but one could come to expect that with a film focusing on young requited love. The direction of the film and pacing was sufficient, but what stood out more than anything was the chemistry of the cast. With the leads being such young performers (Ehrenreich and Englert), it makes perfect sense to throw the brilliant Jeremy Irons into the fray. The cinematography is really quite lush, and I found the action sequences to be more than enough to keep those in the audience interested.The story is fresh and should make for the perfect date movie.
Beautiful Creatures
Starring: Alden Ehrenreich, Alice Englert & Jeremy Irons
Director: Richard LaGravenese
Company: Warner
Now Showing: In Local Theatres
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Grade: A-