Pretty Persuasion

I kinda liked this film for almost all the wrong reasons. It's politically incorrect and doesn't make any apologies for doing so, but yet demonstrates a notion that we can be bigots, and yet not be consciously aware of it. After all, it's what has already been internalized, but it becomes exposed quite naturally through our actions and dialogue.

Evan Rachel Wood is the star of the movie. As Kimberly Joyce, she's the high school frat girl like Alicia Silverstone's Cher in Clueless, but in terms of character, she's on the other side of the spectrum. Way on the other side. She's looking for fame, and would do absolutely anything to obtain her 15 minutes worth. She's a temptress, a seductress, highly intelligent, and so manipulative, she can stab you in the back while smiling in front of you, with you none the wiser and probably still worshipping the ground she treads on.

Which brings us back to the title, and makes you wonder if beautiful people can get away with almost anything. I guess it's probably almost human nature to be enchanted by the pretties, and anyone would most likely be lapping up at anything they say. It doesn't take much for a beautiful bitch to realize the power she wields on men who are drunk in her aura, and then to exploit this weakness of people around her.

There are two more key reasons why I enjoyed the movie, besides being enchanted myself by the Kimberly character. The first is the dialogue in the movie - there's so much wit, and it's fast and laced with plenty of double entrées and satire, delivered in a deadpan manner by Rachel Wood no less, you would likely need to re-watch it again to grasp them all. The second is having Kimberly chaperon a newbie in school, an Arab girl called Randa (Adi Schnall), raising some eyebrows as the religious girl gets exposed to pop culture and blatant insensitive racists remarks, and inevitably too becomes a pawn in the whole scheme of things, as does Kimberly's best friend Brittany (Elisabeth Harnois) discover that it's not always fine and dandy being the hunter, as there is always something or someone else higher above in the food chain.

The host of supporting characters raised the movie to another notch. James Woods shines as the foul mouthed father of Kimberly, who sprouts words of wisdom peppered with colourful vulgar, racist remarks. Jamie King completes the household as the long suffering trophy wife/stepmother in the Joyce household, constantly bearing the brunt of insults hurled at her by Kimberly. At school, we have Ron Livingston as Percy Anderson, as the meek and mild mannered school teacher who indulges in role-playing games with the wife at home (Selma Blair), and inadvertently becomes the target and public enemy #1 of Kimberly and friends. And Jane Krakowski in a bimbotic role, stars as a news reporter who finds it increasingly difficult to stay objective when covering possibly the juiciest scandal to hit town.

There's a sub theme running that touches on "saving face", which is an issue to the successful in ensuring that their reputation does not get tarnished in the face of scandals, and is a trait that most Asians are familiar with. It's important that face is not ruined easily by careless actions, as face is something that is most difficult to build in an environment of shame. Having lost face and losing the faith to rebuild it, can lead people to an untimely sad demise.

So if you're up for some scheming betrayal, and plenty of slimy tactics, if you want to observe how seemingly good intentions are actually poisoned barbs that kill slowly, then I hope I've already persuaded you enough to watch this flick.

Greetings again from the darkness. This one just defies all labels, categories and genres. Definitely not a teen comedy, but it is part Black Comedy, Social Commentary and is written like a spoof ... but it is not a spoof of anything in particular.

The first feature film from director Marcos Siega is off beat as both a comedy and drama. The viewer finds himself in situations of uncomfortable, guilty laughter while at the same time mesmerized by the social topics and excellent acting. The cadence of the dialogue is beyond description and is perfectly displayed at the dinner table with Evan Rachel Woods, her dad played by an over the top James Woods and her new step mom. The family dog plays a big part in the "conversation".

The heart of the story is the devilishly orchestrated false (or are they?) accusations of sexual harassment against drama teacher Ron Livingston (so great in "Office Space"). With so many different agendas at play, we can't help but be drawn into to this story on many levels. Jane Krakowski ("Ally McBeal") shows a real Priscilla Presley side as the lesbian, glory-hound reporter. Selma Blair (Reece Witherspoon's nemesis in "Legally Blonde") is terrific as Livingston's semi-supportive wife.

Make no mistake, the real star of the film, and the reason it works is the extraordinary talents of Evan Rachel Wood (just plain brilliant in "Thirteen"). Wood takes teen ego and self-centeredness and revenge to a whole new level. As one of the male teacher's states, her character is the devil. Watching how she manipulates her friends, teachers, boys and adults is quite the guilty pleasure. Very few actresses her age could pull off the role of this complex character.

The music of the film is very interesting. It is almost as if each character has their own theme song - you can really sense the focal point of the scene by the music. Not sure who to recommend this to as it is impossible to categorize. If you are up for a strange, outside the box story that is well acted, simply filmed and full of uncertain laughter, then this is the one for you!

"Pretty Persuasion" is more outrageous than the combined monologues of Ricky Gervais on the Golden Globes Awards.

The people who will definitely get their money's worth out of this film are the easily offended; for them there is something to offend every couple of minutes.

A number of critics felt the film "...hovered uncomfortably between comedy and satire..." but who cares about genre when it's this funny.

I loved it.

Despite the high school setting - elite Roxbury Academy in Beverly Hills - it's not another "Clueless" or "Mean Girls". It possesses more the anarchic spirit of "God Bless America".

The script is clever; perception is a key motif throughout, and the way the film revisits earlier scenes to show what really happened is inspired.

Although Evan Rachel Wood's character, Kimberly Joyce, seems interested in the well-being of others, she really has no filter; manipulation and passive aggressiveness are built into her DNA. Although she blatantly parades her hypocrisy, she also exposes it in just about everyone around her - often hilariously. In the end though, vulnerabilities are exposed.

When she befriends a quiet, Middle Eastern student, Kimberly's cynical views on migrants, race, religion, sex and just about everything else come to the fore - nothing is sacred. However one commentator nailed it when he said that Kimberly does all this with such obvious pleasure in naughtiness that she's impossible to hate.

The film has an original score by Gilad Benamram. It's light and chilled, and acts as a dispassionate commentator as events unfold.

Evan Rachel Wood's performance is mesmerizing, However, I have one criticism, as others have noted, she slurs her words and speaks so fast it's sometimes hard to understand her. I found myself straining to catch the dialogue, but I didn't want to miss a word because I was enjoying it so much.

"Pretty Persuasion" is fifteen years old now, but has lost none of its bite. Forget the negative comments. This one will have you on the edge of your seat waiting for Kimberly to reveal the next nugget of political incorrectness.

I've liked every effort I've seen by young actress Evan Rachel Wood ("13" being a stellar example, and "Missing" being another). This is no exception. "Pretty Persuasion" is akin to "Election" (Reese Witherspoon) for the first half, with a dark, witty sense of humor about high school aged people playing mental "chess" with each other, their teachers, and parents. Slowly the story morphs darker, into something like "To Die For" (Nicole Kidman), with a media-made, fame-driven main character willing to do whatever it takes to reach a twisted idea of recognition and advancement. THIS would be enough for the film to be interesting and well done within its own right, but then it goes further. Further. This film is billed as a comedy. If it is, it is not for long… a) if you watch the entire thing, and b) you pay attention. I was expecting a good film. I received even more.

I personally was not disappointed by the film. I am continually impressed by Evan Rachel Wood's skills as an actress. Her darkness was so real, the evil inside of her was almost moving. Hilariously dark and witty, James Woods and Evan Rachel Wood kept me laughing and in shock. Pretty Persuasion left me sitting in the theater saying "Oh my god, they did not just say that. Wait, yes they did just go there". The ending was fitting somehow. As shocking and comical as Pretty Persuasion was, it did deliver a powerful message. People are flawed. Not everything in this world is wholesome and good. When it came to manipulation and intelligence, Kimberly Joyce had everything in spades, but when it comes to deception sometimes getting what you want is the easy part, realizing what that says about you and what it all means is the difficult part. Pretty Persuasion is one of the better dark films i've seen come around since Ghost World. Although shocking and sexual, there is no real nudity or graphic sex scenes in the whole film. Everything is left to the imagination, just like Kimberly wanted. Creul Intentions meets Mean Girls on steroids. I loved every shocking minute of it.