Beautiful Creatures, a soon to- be-released fantasy flick, depicts the turbulent love story of Lena Duchannes (Alice Englert) and Ethan Wate (Alden Ehrenreich), as the teens navigate Lena’s family of witches (or ‘casters’, as they prefer to be called), and the inhabitants of their close-minded Southern town.
According to Emmy Rossum, one of the film’s stars, Beautiful Creatures portrays “females in the Duchannes family as having all the power,” while also hinting at a “girlpower battle” between her character and Lena, the focus of the movie. Rossum says this is what ultimately sets the film apart from others of its genre. Adapted from a successful trilogy of teen novels, Beautiful Creatures is a re-imagining of the classic star-crossed lovers tale.
Rossum says she “gravitate[s] toward strong female characters,” as she was raised by a single mother. Having been cast in “good girl roles as a teen,” she became tired of trying to fit the mould. Playing glamourous, supernatural Ridley Duchannes was a chance for Rossum to explore new waters, and a significant departure from her most prominent role to date: the down to earth Fiona Gallagher in Showtime’s gritty dramedy series Shameless.
Alden Ehrenreich, who was scouted at age 14 by Stephen Spielberg at a Bat Mitzvah, tells the Tribune that Beautiful Creatures is a fresh take on the ubiquitous teen fantasy flick.
“You need a device that brings it down to a human level, to a human understanding,” Ehrenreich says. “To me, the humour keeps the film grounded in a more relatable reality.” His co-star, newcomer Zoey Deutch, singles out the film for its unique portrayal of men.
“I don’t know who came up with this idea that it’s not sexy or cool for men to be vulnerable … but Alden plays it so well,” Deutch says.
Recently, comparisons have been made between Beautiful Creatures and Twilight, since both began as successful young adult books, and feature passionate love stories with supernatural elements.
In response to these claims, Ehrenreich says, “It’s the same demographic and the same audience base and the same genre, but I haven’t seen the Twilight movies so I don’t know how similar they actually are.” He adds that he hopes people feel even “a fraction of the enthusiasm” for Beautiful Creatures as that shown for the Twilight franchise. Alice Englert, daughter of New Zealand director Jane Campion, agrees.
“I understand why the comparisons are being made. It’s very natural, because it’s such a new genre to have such a large audience,” Englert says.
Beautiful Creatures was also a chance for many of its young cast to learn from some of Hollywood’s strongest actors; Emma Thompson, Jeremy Irons, and Viola Davis also star in the film.
“The older actors that we worked with were just so nurturing and open to teaching us everything they knew. It was the greatest acting class watching them work,” says Thomas Mann, star of last year’s Project X.
Is there a franchise in the works? Rossum hints that the actors are all “signed for sequels.”
“If people embrace the series and want it to continue, I would love to reprise the role,” Rossum says.
Beautiful Creatures hits theatres Feb. 14.
