by Joshua Skye:
Lavishly produced, sumptuous to behold “Beautiful Creatures” is yet another tale of star-crossed young lovers. Instead of vampires or werewolves, the supernatural creatures of this decadent southern world are referred to as “casters.” Don’t call them “witches,” they find the term offensive.
In the dreary, terribly boring backwoods town of Gatlin, South Carolina there lives a young man named Ethan who dreams of just getting out, of breaking free of the ties binding him to his repressive hometown. Out of the blue, the mysterious Lena shows up and the two fall madly in love, in spite of everything working against them.
It’s not just the plot that’s familiar, these are stock characters we’ve met countless times before. Ethan is the brooding, closeted intellectual at odds with nearly everything and everyone around him. Likewise, Lena is a cardboard character so generic she’s almost satirical. Alden Ehrenreich as Ehan is beautiful to look at, but not very engaging. He lacks the charisma and charm of a true big screen star. His deep southern accent ranges from overwrought to downright annoying. Alice Englert as Lena however, elevates the uninspired role she’s given. Offering us a bold performance reminiscent of early Demi Moore, she almost singlehandedly carries the entire film on her shoulders.
Supporting characters come and go without much explanation. Scenes are often disjointed and confusing. There are plot holes you could drive a truck through. So much was clearly cut out from the novel’s narrative that we get a film that feels incomplete. The sad thing is, this could have been a great movie. It was all there, it simply needed a better script perhaps one more reverent of the source material.
“Beautiful Creatures” was disappointing, I really wanted to love this movie. It’s one of those films that you like in spite of its myriad flaws. If you can overlook them, you might even find much to love.
DarkMedia contributor Joshua Skye’s short stories have appeared in anthologies from STARbooks Press, Knightwatch Press, Sirens Call Publications, Rainstorm Press, JMS Books and periodicals such as Blood and Lullabies. He is the author of “The Singing Wind,” “Bareback: A Werewolf’s Tale,” “Midnight Rainbows,” the forthcoming “The Grigori,” and “The Angels of Autumn.” You can find him on his website.
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