Sofia Coppola's bold 'Beguiled' breathes new life into her career

Ever since her mainstream breakthrough with the classic Bill Murray vehicle Lost In Translation, director Sofia Coppola has seemed to be stuck in neutral.

She's made some well-crafted films -- I particularly thought The Bling Ring was underrated -- but she hasn't made much of a creative leap and at worst she sometimes was guilty of more navel gazing than novel filmmaking.

This is why her critically acclaimed new film The Beguiled, her first attempt at anything resembling a pure genre movie, is such a breath of fresh air.

The Civil War period film is a pastiche of dark comedy, horror and romance. It is also a remake of an unconventional Clint Eastwood film (itself also based on a novel of the same name). The Eastwood movie, which came out back in 1971, the same year he first starred as the iconic Dirty Harry, is a curious entry into his filmography.

In the Eastwood film he plays an injured soldier who is taken in by a house full of what turns out to be horny, repressed woman. He systematically tries to seduce as many of them as possible but his gambit ends up backfiring in horrifying ways. What's most interesting about that version is seeing Eastwood plays such a morally repugnant character, since he almost always plays characters defined by their heroic rectitude. But the movie itself is a little overheated and exploitative.

The new version, well, is much more of a Sofia Coppola film, which will likely disappoint some viewers who are looking for more shocks and scares. But for those looking for a more simmering take on this material, The Beguiled is a blast.

First off, its buoyed by a great cast. Colin Farrell is perfectly cast in the Eastwood role. He's both believable as a sex object and as a slippery manipulator.

Then there's the trio of women in the house vying for his attention (there are also some great standout performances from a younger group of actresses staying in the Virginia home he's convalescing in). Nicole Kidman builds on the good will she got from her great work in HBO's Big Little Lies, with a well-calibrated take on the repressed den mother of the house. Kirsten Dunst brings a lot of feeling and pathos to a lonely and longing character.

And my favorite may be Elle Fanning, who with this, The Neon Demon, and 20th Century Women, has rapidly become one of my favorite young actresses. She is quietly hilarious as the closet nympho is the group.

The film though is more Coppola's than any one character. She has some gorgeous, sumptuous cinematography here, and the film's tension and mounting dread is established from the very beginning with some Kubrick-esque establishing shots, and a minimalist score that at times just sounds like the pounding of a heart.

It's all handled in a tidy, roughly 90 minutes -- although it unfolds with Coppola's trademark languid pace. Because it's not bogged down by distracting effects or unnecessary subplots, it feels like a real movie for adults, with a lot of content to chew on and debate.

Is this movie a satire of toxic masculinity? Is it a study of the ill effect of sexual repression? It may be both. But it definitely is a bold new turn in Coppola's career and an enticing view of what she is capable of when the material is right.