Over the festive period we picked up Beautiful Creatures on BluRay, it was one of those £1 films in Poundland, we hadn’t seen it, didn’t know much about it but knew that it starred Alden Ehrenreich as Ethan, who has been cast as Han Solo in the new Star Wars Anthology film, scheduled for a 2018 release.
We had never seen him lead a film before, and looking at his IMDb credits, we had only ever seen him as a guest star in a 2005 episode of a BMAF TV favourite Supernatural!
Beautiful Creatures was based on a YA book, which we had not read, written by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl, and adapted for the screen, as well as directed by Richard LaGravenese.
He also wrote and directed the book to screen adaptation of P.S. – I Love you, however unlike that book by Cecelia Ahern, we had read prior to seeing the film and didn’t feel was anywhere near as good as the book, yet was an enjoyable watch.
So with Beautiful Creatures being about a boy and a girl unable to fall in love, comparisons will immediately be made to Twilight, although on this occasion, the boy is human and the girl is the supernatural one, this time not a Vampire but a Witch, or Castors as they are known.
The story is a gothic love story, set in the south of Carolina. We follow Ethan, who reads banned books and dreams of leaving the small town he lives in. He dreams of a strange girl, who looks very much like Lena (Alice Englert) a new girl who has arrived in town.
Ethan is concerned for her, when she is bullied by other girls in the glass, suggesting her and her Uncle, Macon (Jeremy Irons) are devil worshippers.
The 2 bond after an incident where Ethan nearly runs her other, following her standing in the road after her cake has broken down. It is only when he shares a locket, he found at his late mother’s grave, upon giving it to her, shares a flashback to the American Civil War, he learns how special Lena is.
Macon disapproves of this love and conspires with Amma (Viola Davis) a family friend of Ethan, to keep the 2 separated. This in part to protect Ethan, as when Lena turns 16 she will either become a dark or a light Witch!
To make matters worse, her cousin Ridley (Emmy Rossum) has arrived in town and Sarafine (Lena’s mother) has possessed the body of Mrs Lincoln (Emma Thompson) to encourage her to the dark side.
Ethan joins Lena to try and find a way their love can flourish but will it be doomed, you’ll have to give the film a watch to find out!
The cast all do well in the roles, Emma Thompson is particularly good as the stern Mrs Lincoln and the possessed Sarafine. The film with its southern setting, feels at times like a teen True Blood.
We are sure this could have been a great film, but with its 2-hour run time it does drag at times, it’s certainly not the worse YA film we have seen, and if you are a fan of Twilight, this film could well be worth your time
You can see the trailer and more at the film’s website here:
If you can’t find the film in a Poundland, you can find it on Amazon here:
You can also find the book and its 3 sequels here, should you want more:
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