The latest paranormal romance to tempt fans of the Twilight saga, Beautiful Creatures has more going for it than its vampiric brethren, but not all that much. For starters, the cast is leagues better, as is the central romance between stir-crazy South Carolina teen Ethan (Alden Ehrenreich) and new witch in town Lena (Alice Englert). Surrounded by annoying Southern caricatures, the young lovers combat supernatural odds to be together and build a relationship worthy of audience investment. Efforts to significantly transcend an uneven script and subpar magic, however, prove less successful and call the very use of spells into question.
Perhaps the main appeal of Richard LaGravenese’s film is that its leads aren’t quite the spotless beauties who typically populate such material. Attractive with a slightly rugged edge, Englert and Ehrenreich lack a Photoshopped glamour, making them more visually interesting than sparkly blood-suckers and bodybuilder werewolves. In turn, the thoughtfulness behind their standout character traits is likewise exceptional. Hip just shy of a cliché, Ethan is good at drawing, wears Allen Ginsberg glasses, and reads banned books, many of which fellow bookworm Lena holds dear. Unlike in sloppier similar fare where mere name-dropping equates to culture, these details are employed in ways that are not only true to the characters, but key to their budding relationship. A firm foundation in place, their love keeps the film grounded even as the mishmash around it threatens to sabotage the work at large.
Enjoy it while you can.
The get-up is due back to Frederick’s by noon tomorrow.
(Warner Bros. Pictures)
Though the superhuman mystique portends to raise Beautiful Creatures’ premise, the film remains a fairly standard tale of forbidden love. Mildly spicing things up is the deadline of Lena’s 16th birthday, when her good or evil nature will be solidified, and the various forces that the event attracts. With a bevy of witches and warlocks descending on one spot, magic-filled times seem all but assured, yet the actual players and their powers are sadly unimaginative.
The most troublesome of these additions is Lena’s cousin Ridley (Emmy Rossum), a saucy sorceress who vamps around like a discount version of Eva Green in Dark Shadows. Wrecking a police cruiser in her introductory scene, presumably killing the officer inside, her actions suggest an immunity to consequence that clashes with the order upheld by family patriarch Macon (Jeremy Irons). While these conflicting approaches are indicative of the spiritually divided clan, their dinner party convergence is a confusing, emotionless one, dressed up with so-so special effects. A witness to it all, Ethan’s response is one of slightly bewildered nonchalance, and who can blame him? When the magical beings’ self-professed threats aren’t given the basic respect they claim to deserve, no rise out of the human (nor the audience) may be expected.
Nonetheless, Beautiful Creatures becomes something more than a mediocre genre piece when its pair of British stars grace the screen. Transcending the ho-hum writing, Irons treats his lines as if performing minor Shakespeare. The level of professionalism is a welcome sight whenever he appears, as is the case with Emma Thompson. As Macon’s evil sister Sarafine, a specter who inhabits the body of local Bible thumper Mrs. Lincoln, she fully commits to brash villainy, cackling with delight whenever possible. When the siblings unite, the film is at its absolute best, though it is inevitably lesser performers incapable of providing such sparks who receive the bulk of screen time. Still, this many highs from a simple story of boy meets ghoul is worth applauding. The end result is far from spectacular, but considering its peers, it’ll do.
Grade: C-
Rated PG-13 for violence, scary images and some sexual material.
Beautiful Creatures is currently playing at the Carolina Cinemas on Hendersonville Rd.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9rjhB7KWEc]