The Beguiled
Director: Don Siegel
Year Released: 1971
Rating: 3.0
During the U.S. Civil War, a badly wounded soldier for the Union (Clint Eastwood) is discovered, nursed and essentially imprisoned in a girl's school in the Confederacy - when many of ladies seek his affections, their jealousies turn him into The Enemy. Though intriguing as a study of manipulation and male impulse (it's hard to say no to so many willing partners), there's also this uncomfortable and off-putting air of misogyny beneath the surface, painting the women as man-crazed and vengeful creatures. It isn't exactly satisfying, and more than a little depressing (according to the IMDb, Eastwood and Siegel had to fight to keep the grim ending), but provides enough subtext to make it more thought-provoking and discussion-worthy than most of Siegel's output. As for me, I'm allergic to mushrooms, so the repressed ladies would have had to have found a different way of eliminating my presence....
