Beautiful Creatures

Second bucket list review, somewhat belated but better late than never.

Richard LaGravenese wrote and directed this adaptation of the first book of the Beautiful Creatures series written by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. The movie stars relative newcomers Alden Ehrenreich and Alice Englert as main characters Ethan Wate and Lena Duchannes respectively. The supporting roles are cast with real powerhouses - Jeremy Irons as Macon Ravenwood, Viola Davis as Amma, Emmy Rossum as Ridley Duchannes, and Emma Thompson as Sarafine.

The story takes place in a tiny town called Gatlin, South Carolina. Gatlin has a Civil War battle in its past and is populated with what seems to be mostly lower middle class, God-fearing folks who know everything about their neighbors including that the founding family, the Ravenwoods, are really witches. This fact puts Lena Duchannes, Macon Ravenwood's niece, in a position of ridicule as town outcast. This position would be hard enough for an adult but for a young woman in high school it can be unbearable. However, Ethan Wate, who wants nothing more than to get out of Gatlin and away from its people, seeks out Lena and befriends her. Through their budding relationship, the two find out that they have secrets in their past and that they were destined for one another. Their destiny may not bring them happiness, however, because a terrible curse may very well tear them apart.

I was not familiar with the story behind this movie because I was not able to read the book before it hit theatres. But I have to say that the movie has inspired me to start this series. While I don't know whether the screenplay was a good adaptation or not because I have not read the books, I think that LaGravenese did an excellent job with the direction. He gets excellent performances from all of the cast, especially Emma Thompson. I was also pleasantly surprised by the performances from Ehrenreich and Englert. Usually it can be hard for a relatively new actor to step into the main role in a big budget movie that has a following and expectations from readers of the books, but I think that Ehrenreich and Englert do themselves credit in these roles.

I was also pleased with the effects in the movie. Fantasy films are benefitting nicely from the advances in computer graphics and Beautiful Creatures is no exception. The movie theatre scene is especially good, with a seamless transition from the reality of the movie to the past to the magic.

I would recommend this movie to any fans of fantasy or romance, and I think fans of the books will be pleased as well.

I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

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