Beautiful Creatures
Directed by Richard LaGravenese
Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
The latest young adult novel transfered to the screen is Beautiful Creatures. It is a story about a young girl who falls in love with a mortal, which causes inner turmoil and creates dangerous obstacles for the young lovers, as any typical teenage fantasy would do. While this plot may reflect certain aspects of Twilight, the different routes the story takes to differentiate itself from other young adult films is surprising.
Beautiful Creatures provides entertainment for its target audience: fans of fantasy. It mentions a lot of prestigious literature, which is a bonus as it leads its readers to other novels. The aesthetics of the film were intriguing to watch because certain scenes had a very classic black and white aspect to them. Others had a very comic book feel to them which is fitting because Beautiful Creatures has also been a comic book. On the other hand, it is slightly too long. The fantasy elements of the film were taken a bit too far and the plot of the film could not match it.
The film is equipped with Oscar-favourite actors: Jeremy Irons, Emma Thompson, and Viola Davis. All three were expected to deliver entertaining performances and they managed to exceed my expectations. The most surprising performance came from Emmy Rossum who played a minor character, but her performance made her the most memorable. The film’s leading characters played by Alden Ehrenreich and Alice Englert were a sweet pairing, whose chemistry carried throughout the film. The acting makes the price of admission worth it.
Beautiful Creatures may follow the formula for young adult films but it still manages to entertain and surprise its audience. Its target audience will especially enjoy what the film offers. However, unless you are a fan of the books, it would be better to wait for its DVD release.
