Mini Review
Beautiful Creatures is based on a book of the same name and tells the story of Ethan (Alden Ehrenreich) a boy who wants nothing more than to leave the small town he grew up in, that is until he meets Lena (Alice Englert). Lena lives with her uncle in a strange old house and soon finds herself and her family the subject of vicious rumours by the small minded townsfolk about them being devil worshipers. Ethan is drawn to Lena regardless of the gossip and when he gives her a locket he finds amongst trinkets in his house, he and Lena share a flashback of the civil war. Lena confesses to Ethan that she and her family are casters which means they can perform spells. Lena tells Ethan that her 16th birthday will determine whether she is a caster of light or dark origin, i.e good or evil. Ethan believes he knows who Lena truly is but will that make any difference to her fate?
I really wanted to like Beautiful Creatures. It had an impressive cast and an intriguing story. But I am sorry to say that it's not overly well executed. I think mainly because the filmmakers tried too hard to mould it into the next Twilight film so that it would get at their target audience. I haven't read the books that it's based on but I would bet that they're worthy of more than the filmmakers allowed this movie to be.
The younger cast were unknowns which gave them more of a chance to shine but I have to say that they didn't really make an impression on me, and the better known cast such as Jeremy Irons, Emma Thompson and Emmy Rossum were all a little too OTT hammy for my liking.
The film felt a lot longer than it's two hour running time and by the end I really didn't care whether Lena was going to be good or bad, I just wanted the film to be over. Which is a shame as it's not that bad a story. It's just not all that special a film. A distinctly average 5 out of 10.
Viewing Date - 17th February 2013
UK Release Date - 13th February 2013
Cast Overview:
Alden Ehrenreich ~ Ethan Wate
Alice Englert ~ Lena Duchannes
Jeremy Irons ~ Macon Ravenwood
Viola Davis ~ Amma
Emmy Rossum ~ Ridley Duchannes
Thomas Mann ~ Link
Emma Thompson ~ Mrs Lincoln / Sarafine
Eileen Atkins ~ Gramma
Director ~ Richard LaGravenese
Writer(s) ~ Richard LaGravenese (Screenplay), Kami Garcia (Novel) and Margaret Stohl (Novel)
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