Oscar nominee Richard LaGravenese directs the latest novel turned supernatural flick adapted from the best- selling series, Beautiful Creatures, written by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. The film features a young man named Ethan, played by Alden Ehrenreich, whose life is turned upside down after the arrival of 15-year-old Lena, played by Alice Englert.
“I play Ethan Wate a young guy whose living in a small town, who is desperate to get out of this town, and I meet Lena Duchannes, who is the new girl in town and I have all these visions of adventures like I want to live outside the town,” Ehrenreich said.
The idea of an outside world drives Wate’s character throughout the film.
“When I meet [Lena] she sort of embodies everything that is exciting and all those adventures, and in her personality and who she is. And it turns out she’s a Caster, and we have to struggle against the forces of her family that are trying to keep us apart, so we can stay together,” Ehrenreich said.
The movie features a group of fresh faces, but it doesn’t lack for star power. Academy Award winners Jeremy Irons and Emma Thompson, as well as Oscar nominee Viola Davis and Golden Globe nominee Emmy Rossum are key players in the film.
“Our characters call themselves Casters, that’s a fancy name for witches but they prefer to be called Casters,” Emmy Rossum said.
Rossum plays Lena’s cousin Ridley, who was claimed for the dark side upon her 16th birthday. Lena’s character struggles with her fate upon the arrival of her 16th birthday as well. It is unknown whether she will be claimed for the Dark or the Light side.
Although it has its dark aspects, what sets Beautiful Creatures apart from other gloomier love stories is its humor.
“I think people aren’t expecting it to be funny, but Alden is really funny in the movie. It’s not your typical brooding cool leading guy. He’s real. He’s vulnerable. He reads a lot of books,” said Thomas Mann, who plays Ethan’s friend, Link.
Another differentiator of the film is its use of live action sets instead of primarily CG.
“All of the effects that you see, I’m sure you’ve seen in the trailers, 90 percent of that was actually sets that were created to do everything that the script wanted them to, so only about 10 percent of that scene, of the finished product is enhanced with any kind of digital effect,” Rossum said, referring to the Autumn harvest scene.
The actors were faced with the shattering of sugar glass, tables spinning, flying objects, and a set that shook and spun, which required sea sickness medicine.
“It really did feel like you were on a ride at Magic Mountain while trying to act in 6 inch Christian Louboutins,” Rossum said.
Fans of the books series will get a chance to see if the film lives up to their expectation upon the movie’s release on Feb. 14 or Valentine’s Day.
“I believe it’s important to understand that the book and the movie are separate entities, but I think that the fans are going to be very happy because it truly stays honest to the original story and the characters and I think it’s something to be said about the fact that the authors of the series are very very happy with the movie.” Zoey Deutch said.
If the movie is successful, the actors are signed on for the sequels.