The high-school movie “Pretty Persuasion” paints itself in a corner. This indie takes on an interesting issue, but does so in a sarcastic way; it’s a comedy but with creepy gravity; and it leaves itself without the usual reassuring sympathetic characters.
| Risky: A black, cruel comedy about a high-school schemer (Evan Rachel Wood) in Beverly Hills, who accuses a teacher (Ron Livingston) of improper conduct. Not really audience-friendly, but an intriguing risk-taker.
Rated: Not rated; probably R for language, subject matter. Now showing: tk |
All of which may doom it at the box office, except for cultists. Still, those attributes make “Pretty Persuasion” an intriguing and surprising film – plus it boasts yet another terrific performance by teen actress Evan Rachel Wood.
It is impossible not to invoke previous high-school satires, such as “Heathers” and “Mean Girls,” when talking about this one. But this film is not as outlandish as “Heathers” and not as funny as “Mean Girls” – although it has its share of cruel humor.
Evan Rachel Wood plays Kimberly, a 15-year-old schemer at a private high school in Beverly Hills. She’s the queen bee in a hive that includes Brittany (Elisabeth Harnois) and Randa (Adi Schnall), the latter a modest, shockable Arab-American girl.
There’s nothing shockable about Kimberly. She’s already learned how to use sex as a bargaining tool, and it’s rumored her I.Q. test once “broke the computer” she was being tested on.
The ingenious structure of the movie doesn’t unfold in chronological order, but jumps around a central incident: Kimberly and the girls accuse a teacher (Ron Livingston) of improper conduct.
We’re not sure of the truth of the accusation. Kimberly may have an ax to grind, because she was fired from the teacher’s production of “Diary of Anne Frank” after she insulted a Jewish boy. The principal, when punishing her, points out the school’s priorities: “We can’t have our Anne Frank going around making anti-Semitic remarks. That’s a level of irony I won’t have under this roof.”
On the other hand, the teacher is not entirely above suspicion. When he gives his wife (Selma Blair) a tight skirt identical to the school uniform, and then asks her to do a sexy dance, the gift neatly summarizes his lecherous feelings.
First-time director Marcos Siega borrows from his movie forbears, with nods to “American Beauty” and Stanley Kubrick’s black comedies. I liked the grave, fluid style, even while people are saying outrageous things.
Wood, the star of “Thirteen,” easily brings off the icy calculation of Kimberly. Jane Krakowski captures an ambitious TV reporter covering the legal case, and James Woods is broad but quite funny as Kimberly’s father – it’s one of his juiciest roles in ages.
“Pretty Persuasion” keeps the audience at arm’s length. This, too, will limit its appeal. But it’s a risk-taking venture, and it makes “Mean Girls” look more like “Gidget” than you’d expect.
Evan Rachel Wood (left), Adi Schnall and Elisabeth Harnois star in “Pretty Persuasion.”
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