Sofia Coppola's newest project is bound to be your guilty pleasure of the summer. The Beguiled, based on the 1966 novel A Painted Devil by Thomas P. Cullinan, is set in an isolated Southern boarding school for girls during the Civil War. When a wounded Union soldier found nearby and treated at the seminary, his stay results in seduction, envy and betrayal.
The film boasts a star-studded cast: Nicole Kidman is headmistress Martha Farnsworth, Colin Farrell plays the soldier, Kirsten Dunst portrays a teacher named Edwina and Elle Fanning is her rival, a student named Alicia.
The Beguiled is actually a remake of a 1971 film of the same name, which starred Clint Eastwood in Farrell's role. Although the original movie revolved around the soldier, Coppola's edition puts the focus on the women, and their complex dynamic within their secluded setting.
"The main crux of the story is about the dynamics between a group of women all stuck together, and then also the power shifts between men and women," Coppola told Entertainment Weekly. "So for me, it's very universal, but it's in this exotic setting of the Southern gentility."
The Beguiled comes to theaters on June 23. Watch the trailer below.
