The Beguiled

Right now you can watch The Beguiled in Australia on Paramount+ Amazon Channel, and in the US on Netflix — and it holds up to as much attention as you give it. The runtime earns every minute, with nothing here that feels like padding. 2,248 viewers have already rated it on TMDB — the kind of consensus that does not happen by accident. Colin Farrell sets the tone, and the rest of the cast matches it scene for scene. Put it on tonight on Paramount+ Amazon Channel and see for yourself.

Whatever else is competing for your attention this week, The Beguiled is worth clearing space for. The Beguiled takes its time building the world its characters inhabit, and the patience pays off. During the Civil War, at a Southern girls’ boarding school, young women take in an injured enemy soldier. As they provide refuge and tend to his wounds, the house is taken over with sexual tension and dangerous rivalries, and taboos are broken in an unexpected turn of events. Colin Farrell and Nicole Kidman lead a cast that brings real weight to the material. It was released in 2017. The writing trusts the audience to sit with ambiguity rather than wrapping everything up in a tidy conclusion — it is the approach that separates good drama from great. It knows exactly what it is, and does not try to be anything else.

For anyone looking for storytelling that takes its characters seriously, The Beguiled delivers. If you have run out of similar titles to watch, this is a strong next pick. Short enough to finish in one sitting, substantial enough to feel satisfying. Colin Farrell is the centre of it, and it is one of their strongest performances on record. The patience it asks of you early on is paid back with interest.