Beautiful Creatures DVD is a far cry from the Book

BeautifulCreatures finally makes it’s way to DVD, and of course I have to pick it up. Am I a glutton for punishment? Not entirely. While I may have kinda ripped on the movie in my review, I did kinda like it. At the heart of the movie , is the story that I loved by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. But while the opening pretty much hit every button, it quickly goes downhill from there.

The just of the story remains true for both, Ethan Wate longs to escape his small Southern town of Gatlin. Mysterious new girl Lena arrives and the two are drawn together by turbulent elements, as they uncover dark secrets about their respective families, their history and their town. But so much of their story is glossed over, that it leaves behind a unsatisfying one that feels a bit flat.

They only touch on the abuse Lena receives at the hands of her classmates for being Macon Ravenwood’s niece. Not to mention Ethan’s total abandonment by his basketball team. Both factors that helped reinforce their bond. Instead it plays out as a couple of random acts of meaness by the school’s queen bee and her lackey. Sure Lena is almost suspended from school after the shattering of a window, but really the girls are easy enough to ignore. They aren’t the same girls who form the Guardian Angels, or the ones who orchestrate a Carrie-esque soap dousing that ruins Lena’s first dance.

And those aren’t the only parts changed. Certain elements are altogether missing from the movie: the shadowing song, Lena’s family powers, Ethan’s mom, Marian. I could go on and on, but there’s really no point in it. Although some changes, like the color of Savannah Snow’s hair, didn’t impact the story, one most glaring spot involved the Curse. The curse was front and center, in both, but the movie omitted what would happen if Lena chose light or dark, as if being dark was the worse thing possible.

So what if Lena turns dark and all the casters after her are dark? Macon is dark, proving that you didn’t have to be a homicidal maniac if you were dark. You could chose to be good. And what about Aunt Del and Gramma? As women in the family they should be dark, and they seemed fairly normal. Oh right, that was a fact that wasn’t mentioned, they’re actually light, many family members are. But I’m getting ahead of myself. In the books Lena’s choice killed the entire other side of the family. Huh. That would make one think twice about choosing, and open up a whole other can of worms for the next movie.

It was the lack of foresight that had Macon sacrificing himself and Amma as the librarian, and Sarafine amounting to being barely a blip on the threat meter. Where were her fires, her knife. She comes off as whiny and childish, and that’s unfortunate. Beautiful Creatures had great potential, and a phenomenal cast, but not even they can save this sinking ship.

If you haven’t read the books, you’ll enjoy the movie. The actors did what they could with the script, and the special effects are really well done. See the movie long before you read the book, and you’ll have a more enjoyable experience. Beautiful Creatures came to DVD  May 21, 2013.