Movie tip

The Beguiled

Atmosphere hangs artistically heavy over "The Beguiled" — the oppressive heat and the gorgeously rustic landscape of 1864 Virginia; the suffocating isolation of a house of girls and their teachers during the Civil War. Director Sofia Coppola certainly creates a memorable visual world. The plot, pulled from a 1971 movie, though, feels dated. And the film starts at a too-restrained pace before bursting into melodrama. Nicole Kidman and Kirsten Dunst hint at the repressed emotions of the school's headmisterss and teacher, respectively, and Colin Farrell broods handsomely as an injured Union soldier the women take in.