Trailer VS Trailer: The Beguiled ... Clint Eastwood vs Colin Farrell #book2movies

Update June 28th: The Beguiled made its debut at Cannes to raves, it's playing now to mixed reviews, some call it a haunting fairy tale, others 'gorgeous but stifling'. They mostly agree The Beguiled has been shot beautifully by Philippe Le Sourd. No matter the reviews, I'm hoping to see The Beguiled this week. I saw the original when it was released in 1971, gender politics were a lot different then so I'm curious to see how this plays out. What I mostly remember my 18 year old self thinking was that Clint Eastwood was hot hot hot! The 64 year old me risks being thought of a dirty old woman by saying the same goes for Colin Farrell.

 My Take on The Beguiled 2017

When I first shared the release date for the remake of The Beguiled starring Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, Elle Fanning and Kirsten Dunst: June 23, 2017, the studio hadn't yet released a trailer. 

And because they hadn’t released the trailer, I shared the vintage 1971 trailer of the original film based on the book by Thomas Cullinan. That movie starred Clint Eastwood and was pretty provocative viewing.

Guess what happened? The studio has now released the trailer for the upcoming version directed by Sofia Coppola! They couldn’t have done that in time for my post?

What to do? Compare and contrast, what else?

Clint

VS

Colin

“You vengeful bitches!’’

Both trailers show the females are jealous of each other, eager for McBurney’s affection. Through the use of voice over, the trailer from 1971 is much more obvious about the sexual overtones of the movie, calling the women “man-deprived’’, the girls, “man-eager.” Those passions are attributes McBurney inflames for his benefit, using the women’s desire as a tool to try to achieve his freedom. 

While both men use the women (poor, lonely, men-deprived women!) notice how the 1971 version talks tough but we see Eastwood playing the role of a gentle lover, seductive and enticing with his kisses and embraces. 

In the upcoming 2017 version Farrell appears to be cast in a more violently aggressive role; ripping bodices, tearing clothing, forcing himself between legs. It’s hard to know from such a short trailer whether Farrell’s McBurney is a brutal rapist while Eastwood’s McBurney is a more insidious type of sexual predator. 

Has director Sofia Coppola directed a film about a bunch of jealous women getting their come uppance because a sexually enticing man has played them or is there more beneath the surface? What seems clear is that in the end, the women—those vindictive bitches—win. Huzzah to that!

What do you think?