Remember when the stiffest test a teen romance had to face was a Dad's stern looks or the fear of dating beneath one's social status? Now its zombies, vampires, werewolves, and whatever else no longer lurks in the night but sets up shop in the daylight of prettified small towns. Beautiful Creatures, based on a series of young adult books by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, may tap into familiar themes of forbidden love oppression, but it's the unique texture of the world, along with the phenomenal cast surrounding it that makes this the most promising teen supernatural drama yet.
The town's religious zealotry makes for an interesting clash with supernatural myth and legend, giving the film its distinctive feel. Ethan Wate has been having visions of a dark-haired girl shrouded in darkness, and soon after meets the sullen and snarky Lena Duchesne (Alice Englert), a newcomer in town who draws the ire of nearly everyone. Lena's of the Ravenwood clan, the apparent founders of Gatlin, and the niece to Boo Radley-esque recluse, Macon (Jeremy Irons). Macon may be a shut-in, but his fashion is pure mystic chic. Lena has a strange tattoo on her hand, numbers that seem to be counting down somehow. But counting down to what?
Of course, Lena is the gal from Ethan's visions, but he finds it difficult breaking through her emotional shell. She's feisty and defensive, ripping the close-minded townsfolk with razor sharp insults. Some of those are directed his way, as well, until he defends her and they begin a dangerous courtship. Lena's a caster, which is like a witch only not like a witch. "It's a pejorative", she says. At the age of 16 she'll either stay an innocent, or go the way of darkness. The impact of going to the dark side reflected in her cousin, Ridley (Emmy Rossum), who used to be innocent but now dresses like the hottest, trashiest Victoria's Secret model ever. Macon believes that Lena's love for Ethan opens her up to the dark, and there's a long family history that backs up his point.
So it's another doomed teenage love story between a human and magical being, and to be fair their story goes almost exactly as one might expect. What makes it special is the clever script, written by director Richard LaGravanese, which openly mocks the South's phony notions of religious piety, which far too often hide racism and anti-intellectualism. LaGravanese gives the film a distinct, Gothic look where every estate appears to be hundreds of years old and has never seen a gardener or fresh coat of paint. He sprinkles their burgeoning romance with nifty visual flourishes, such as a snowstorm in the middle of a humid swamp.
But it's the cast that really steals the show, and listening to greats such as Emma Thompson and Jeremy Irons twang their way through the deep Southern dialect you know they're really enjoying themselves. Thompson especially, as the most fanatical of the town's zealots, doesn't just chew scenery but utterly devour it. She's only matched by Irons, and in the film's most uproarious scene the two square off in a war of words and overacting that is just too delicious. Rossum is stunning and devious as the family tart, while Viola Davis could probably have been given more to do as a family friend with her own unique powers.
Most impressive of all are Englert and Ehrenreich, who more than stand their own opposite such a talented group. Englert, the daughter of filmmaker Jane Campion, possesses a subtle beauty and strength that would make her the perfect heroine for one of her mother's films. She's balanced perfectly by Ehrenreich, who got his breakout playing an Italian in Francis Ford Coppola's Tetro. While his accent is a little ridiculous, he just goes with it and makes it a part of Ethan's character. He gives Ethan an attitude and lightness that is endearing, and when called upon to play the shell-shocked human in a room full of casters he does that just as well. The chemistry he and Englert are able to pull off together overshadows the story's rather simple notions on love.
Beautiful Creatures only struggles when LaGravanese stops to iron out all of the confusing magical details. What determines whether Lena will be good or evil? Why is everyone so scared of her potential power? What is the strange connection between the Ravenwoods and the Wates? All of the backstory and exposition should disappear with subsequent films now that the set-up is done. That's assuming there will be sequels, and a large part of that will depend on if only teenage girls turn out. The cast of screen vets should be enough to lure others in, while Ehrenreich and Englert's passion will suck them in for the long haul.