Alcon Entertainment and Warner Bros. Entertainment released Beautiful Creatures to movie theaters on Valentine’s day. Beautiful Creatures is based of the book series by Margaret Stohl and Kami Garcia.
As the lights fade, several senses are bombarded with images and sounds. Multiple images of plantations and faded Civil War battles flash together in rapid succession. As the narrator’s tale begins, it is a cultural shock to hear Ethan Wate’s purely southern voice, played by Alden Ehrenreich. However, after the first fifteen minutes, the ears adjust and one barely notices the accent by the film’s end.
Having southern dialect and strong accents can be tacky and distracting. However, when paying attention, the accents add to the overall country environment of the setting. The side jokes also became a point of comedic relief after the more serious scenes.
In most movies and books, it can be easy to pinpoint who is “good” and who is “evil.” While there are several characters who the audience can easily identify as good or bad, there are others that could be either.
Since her birth, Lena Duchannes, played by Alice Englert, is a female Caster (witch) who has been destined to be claimed by the “dark” side on her sixteenth birthday. Since the Civil War, a curse has been placed on her family’s female members. They all are immediately claimed for the darkness instead of the “light.” However, before Lena’s birthday, several key characters discover her love for Ethan further complicates which side can and will claim her. Holding onto her love and possible soulmate, Lena fights against fate. The whole movie acts as a countdown to Lena’s birthday.
Some of her actions places Lena on the path of darkness, such as breaking classroom windows, conjuring terrible lightning storms and attaching her cousin, Ridley Duchannes. Played by Emmy Rossum, Ridley had been claimed by the darker side, thus being defined as a bad character. While other actions demonstrate Lena’s potential for good. She protects those she loves and fights against the darkness trying to consume her.
The moral of this movie is about discovering who one is as a person and embracing it, instead of conforming to the status quo. Even though one’s life is on a “set” path, it can be changed.
This southern book/movie series takes place in a small South Carolina town. The landscape stays consistent to cities within that state. There were several large mansions that could have been found on old plantations along with Spanish Moth, Palmetto and Angel Oak trees. The scenes involving the Civil War, also accurately picture the battlegrounds and outfits.
Beautiful Creatures is tied to detailed computer graphics, clear audio, authentic landscape and believable acting. Overall, if one is looking for a very fast paced fantasy movie that will get your blood pumping, this is the one to see.
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