THE BEGUILED


  • Set Decorator
    Amy Silver SDSA

    Production Designer
    Anne Ross

    Focus Features


    Farnsworth Seminary,
    Virginia plantation…


    Against her better judgment, Miss Martha [Nicole Kidman], a Southern lady and head of the girls’ school housed in her ancestral home, has taken in and nursed back to health a wounded Yankee soldier/deserter,
    John McBurney
    [Colin Farrell]...


    Photo by Ben Rothstein
    © 2017 Focus Features.
    All Rights Reserved


  • Set Decorator
    Amy Silver SDSA

    Production Designer
    Anne Ross

    Focus Features


    Farnsworth Seminary,
    Virginia plantation…


    Before the “visitor” arrives...



    Photo by Ben Rothstein
    © 2017 Focus Features.
    All Rights Reserved


  • Set Decorator
    Amy Silver SDSA

    Production Designer
    Anne Ross

    Focus Features


    Farnsworth Seminary,
    Virginia plantation…


    The locked door to the temporary infirmary...



    Photo by Ben Rothstein
    © 2017 Focus Features.
    All Rights Reserved


  • Set Decorator
    Amy Silver SDSA

    Production Designer
    Anne Ross

    Focus Features


    Farnsworth Seminary,
    Music Room…


    Since there are no bedrooms downstairs in a plantation, the Music Room has temporarily been converted into
    an infirmary for the wounded soldier.

    See article below for details, including a list of resources for this room...

    Photo by Ben Rothstein
    © 2017 Focus Features.
    All Rights Reserved


  • Set Decorator
    Amy Silver SDSA

    Production Designer
    Anne Ross

    Focus Features


    Farnsworth Seminary,
    Music Room…


    Miss Martha [Nicole Kidman] checks on the still unconscious patient
    [Colin Farrell]...

    Photo by Ben Rothstein
    © 2017 Focus Features.
    All Rights Reserved


  • Set Decorator
    Amy Silver SDSA

    Production Designer
    Anne Ross

    Focus Features


    Farnsworth Seminary,
    Music Room…


    And remembers when she bathed him after treating his wounds...

    Nicole Kidman.
    Photo by Ben Rothstein
    © 2017 Focus Features.
    All Rights Reserved


  • Set Decorator
    Amy Silver SDSA

    Production Designer
    Anne Ross

    Focus Features


    Farnsworth Seminary,
    Music Room…


    Awaking from a fever-dream, McBurney [Colin Farrell] grabs onto the seemingly angelic Miss Edwina [Kirsten Dunst]...

    This shot gives the feeling of still being in the dream...

    Photo by Ben Rothstein
    © 2017 Focus Features.
    All Rights Reserved


  • Set Decorator
    Amy Silver SDSA

    Production Designer
    Anne Ross

    Focus Features


    Farnsworth Seminary,
    Music Room/Infirmary…


    As McBurney [Colin Farrell] begins to recover, each of the girls sneak into his room.
    Having been raised on
    “How to catch a man”, but with all of the men off to war,
    Alicia [Elle Fanning] is eager to practice her skills...


    Photo by Ben Rothstein
    © 2017 Focus Features.
    All Rights Reserved


  • Set Decorator
    Amy Silver SDSA

    Production Designer
    Anne Ross

    Focus Features


    Farnsworth Seminary,
    Music Room/infirmary…


    The ladies of Farnsworth decide music will help their patient heal...
    Miss Edwina Dabney
    [Kirsten Dunst],
    Emily [Emma Howard],
    Marie [Addison Riecke],
    Amy [Oona Laurence],
    Jane [Angourie Rice],
    Alicia [Elle Fanning] and
    Miss Martha
    [Nicole Kidman]...


    Photo by Ben Rothstein
    © 2017 Focus Features.
    All Rights Reserved


  • Set Decorator
    Amy Silver SDSA

    Production Designer
    Anne Ross

    Focus Features


    Music Room/Infirmary…
    Colin Farrell, as the healing McBurney...
    Coppola reveals,
    “In the book, the soldier is Irish. When I met with Colin and heard his natural Irish accent, I thought it would be great to keep that and make McBurney even more exotic for the women.
    He is a mercenary who was paid to take another man’s place in the war. But I wanted him to charm, that it not be obvious that he’s bad news.”


    Photo by Ben Rothstein
    © 2017 Focus Features.


  • Set Decorator
    Amy Silver SDSA

    Production Designer
    Anne Ross

    Focus Features


    Farnsworth Seminary,
    Music Room…


    “The women have to feel hope, especially Kirsten’s character of Edwina,” states Coppola, “The vulnerable schoolteacher is repressed and fragile...”

    Photo by Ben Rothstein
    © 2017 Focus Features.
    All Rights Reserved


  • Set Decorator
    Amy Silver SDSA

    Production Designer
    Anne Ross

    Focus Features


    Upstairs window…

    Dunst muses, “There is death in the story, but it’s also about how a person dies inside.

    Note the importance of the draperies in these photos...they are not only background, but storytellers as well...


    Photo by Ben Rothstein
    © 2017 Focus Features.
    All Rights Reserved


  • Set Decorator
    Amy Silver SDSA

    Production Designer
    Anne Ross

    Focus Features


    Edwina’s bedroom…

    Simplicity is revealing...as is the vase of fresh picked roses from the bushes that the healing McBurney has been tending...



    Photo by Ben Rothstein
    © 2017 Focus Features.
    All Rights Reserved


July 14th, 2017 by Karen Burg

Directed by Sofia Coppola, who also wrote the screenplay, the story unfolds during the Civil War at a Southern girls’ boarding school run by Miss Martha Farnsworth [Nicole Kidman] in her ancestral plantation house, assisted by French teacher, Miss Edwina Dabney [Kirsten Dunst]. Its sheltered young women take in an injured enemy soldier, John McBurney [Colin Farrell], rescued from the nearby woods by one of the young students. 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.                                                      --Focus Features
 
“My friend Production Designer Anne Ross, had first told me about the 1971 movie The Beguiled, which I had never seen but which I knew was highly regarded,” Coppola shares. “I watched it, and the story just kept staying in my mind, how it was weird and the turns were unexpected.” Intrigued, Coppola wanted to explore the theme of women isolated during the Civil War. In writing the screenplay adaptation, she went back to the book to tell the story from the female characters’ perspective for her film, and worked with her team of artisans to bring it about.
 
Set Decorator Amy Beth Silver SDSA gives SET DECOR a few glimpses into the making of this moody, artfully stylistic, quietly exotic thriller, which Colin Farrell describes as, “...the most aesthetically rich film that I’ve been a part of – THE NEW WORLD is pretty extraordinary visually, but that is pure nature. THE BEGUILED is a lot more interiors and design.”
 
 
SET DECOR: Nicole Kidman says...“I was so happy to support Sofia as a female director, and I always thought that she made such atmospheric movies in such a signature style. That was the main thing which drew me to working with her.”
Please tell us about collaborating with Coppola and Production Designer Anne Ross...
 
I came to know Anne and Sofia from television commercials we have worked on together. Anne had brought this project to Sofia— so by the time we started pre-production they’d been discussing it for over a year, and had a very clear vision for the film. Anne put together extraordinary collages, pulling references from historical photographs, daguerreotypes, period and contemporary films, fashion photography, 19th century painting and drawing, auction catalogues -- really an amazing collection of images that drew out the mood and aesthetic of the film so perfectly. They drew a world where Kate Moss, Sally Mann, John Singer Sargent and William Eggleston all make sense together.  
 
SET DECOR: What can you tell us about filming on location in the New Orleans area, from the National Historic Landmark, the plantation house Madewood, to a mansion within the city?
 
I arrived in New Orleans only a few weeks after a devastating storm ravaged Denham Springs – a large antiques district town just outside of NOLA. And I arrived on the heels of three bigger budget productions of the same period (12 YEARS A SLAVE, FREE STATE OF JONES and ROOTS). Needless to say the town felt fairly depleted of exactly the kind of things I needed to find. Even Ebay and Etsy felt picked over. I was lucky to have found an amazing assistant, Jill Broadfoot, who had not only worked on all those other films but who also had a complete knowledge of the period. We were very reliant on her expertise and she contributed a lot to the way the movie looks. Beauty would at times win over historical accuracy—but that’s something I’m okay with.
 
One major challenge was that there was exactly one fabric store in town at the time. In New York, you can swatch for days – but ultimately I liked the discipline of having restrictions. And the same was true in regards to what was available in the area.
 
Shooting at Madewood Plantation was a mixed bag. It was 2 hours outside of New Orleans and in a pretty remote area. The plantation itself was grand and beautiful and Anne and Jennifer Deaghan, the art director, were able to create that beautiful garden in the back. We shot all of the exteriors there, as well as the dining room, the kitchen and a smoke house that you don’t really see in the film. But in the end, it’s hard to shoot at a place that has this dark history and not feel discomforted.
 
We shot the rest of the interiors at a gorgeous house in the Garden District of New Orleans. That location was a puzzle because we couldn’t paint or put anything (even tape) on the walls other than where the homeowner had already nailed something.
 
SET DECOR: Coppola says the film “has this dusty pale feminine look at the beginning to emphasize coming into this female world...As the story progresses, it shifts to take a more Southern Gothic style...”
 
Yes, the palette of the film came about organically but it was a girl’s world, and so pink and pastels have a large role in the film. The main idea was to put McBurney in the middle of this aggressively female world. Sofia is very fond of lace and doilies—and so am I. However, after McBurney gets his leg amputated, the lace pillows and brocade bedspread go away and things go downhill from there. 
 
SET DECOR: How did you manage a tight shooting schedule – 26 days – and a tight budget?!
 
Our budget was LOW. At the end of the film I was moving the curtain tiebacks from room to room because we had run out of money. We justified the spare interiors and bare floors as a result of depleted resources appropriate for the end of the war. 
 
SET DECOR: Coppola does mention...“I was surprised at how they lived when things were so scarce. We had a Civil War re-enactor teaching us how to do the medical applications of that time...and the handiwork, the embroidery; they had run out of paper and they were writing on the edges of books...”
 
 We were careful and specific about where we spent money. I would show Anne and Sofia something and they would inevitably ask, “Can we afford it?”  They were relentlessly considerate and supportive.  How great is that?
 
Working with Anne and Sofia was a joy from beginning to end.  I’ve worked for a long time in this industry and know well that the creativity, intelligence and respect they exemplify is something unique – particularly in a male dominated industry that very rarely puts a woman at the helm.  
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
Resources:
Alan Songer at Omega|Cinema Props was so accommodating, efficient and nice,
amazing to work with throughout the entire film...
 
Music Room:
Daybed: Fireside Antiques, custom cushion by Draperies by Leila
Window treatments: Artee Fabrics, Cooper Lace, Draperies by Leila
Chair: Lucullus Antiques
Bedding: Wirthmore Antiques, Restoration Hardware, Bohemianville Antiques
Antiques screen: Borrowed from Madewood Plantation
Artwork: Inessa Stewart, Omega|Cinema Props, Renaissance Antiques
Desk: Renaissance Antiques
 
Kitchen:
Furniture: Nola Props, Madewood Plantation
Smalls: Nola Props, Ebay, Etsy, Lucullus Antiques, Korner Shoppe Antiques

Window treatments: Family Heirloom Weavers
 
 
 
 



Set Decor / Film Decor Features Awards Archives

...more about the sets of A COMPLETE UNKNOWN! 2024-12-27
...more from THE BRUTALIST 2024-12-24
...more from NOSFERATU 2024-12-11
...more BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE 2024-10-30
SATURDAY NIGHT 2024-10-24
IT ENDS WITH US 2024-08-16
MEAN GIRLS 2024-03-04
DICKS: THE MUSICAL 2023-12-30
...more BARBIE! 2023-11-21
...more AIR 2023-11-16
A HAUNTING IN VENICE 2023-10-29
BLUE BEETLE 2023-09-01
LANDSCAPE WITH INVISIBLE HAND 2023-08-30
BIG GEORGE FOREMAN: THE MIRACULOUS STORY OF THE ONCE AND FUTURE HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION OF THE WORLD 2023-04-27
SHARPER 2023-04-01
ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT 2023-03-03
YOUR PLACE OR MINE 2023-03-01
80 FOR BRADY 2023-02-10
ELVIS 2023-01-26
EMILY 2023-01-05
...more NOPE 2023-01-03
...more SHE SAID 2023-01-02
LYLE, LYLE, CROCODILE 2022-12-31
...more THE FABELMANS 2022-12-27
...more WHITE NOISE 2022-12-15
...more BABYLON 2022-12-13
...more TOP GUN: MAVERICK 2022-11-16
WEST SIDE STORY 2022-03-17
KING RICHARD 2022-02-07
NO TIME TO DIE 2022-01-31
...more HOUSE OF GUCCI 2022-01-13
...more CYRANO 2022-01-10
...more LICORICE PIZZA 2022-01-05
THE FRENCH DISPATCH 2021-12-31
...more TICK,TICK,BOOM! 2021-12-30
IN THE HEIGHTS 2021-12-21
...more BEING THE RICARDOS! 2021-12-16
CLIFFORD THE BIG RED DOG 2021-12-14
The Power of Collaboration 2021-12-08
KATE 2021-12-07
THE MANY SAINTS OF NEWARK 2021-10-06
MALIGNANT 2021-09-29
DEAR EVAN HANSEN 2021-09-23
FREE GUY 2021-08-14
MA RAINEY'S BLACK BOTTOM 2021-04-20
NEWS OF THE WORLD 2021-04-19
PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN 2021-02-23
THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7 2021-02-15
THE LITTLE THINGS 2021-01-28
THE PROM 2020-12-31
THE BOYS IN THE BAND 2020-11-03
BLACK PANTHER 2020-09-04
STAR WARS:
THE RISE OF SKYWALKER
2020-05-14
JOJO RABBIT 2020-01-31
THE TWO POPES 2020-01-06
LITTLE WOMEN 2019-12-30
THE REPORT 2019-12-19
KNIVES OUT 2019-12-17
THE IRISHMAN 2019-12-12
LAST CHRISTMAS 2019-12-02
FORD V FERRARI 2019-11-21
DOCTOR SLEEP 2019-11-13
DOWNTON ABBEY 2019-10-10
SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME 2019-07-26
THE HIGHWAYMEN 2019-07-19
ROCKETMAN 2019-07-08
ALADDIN 2019-06-30
JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 3 – PARABELLUM 2019-05-28
AVENGERS: END GAME 2019-05-20
US 2019-04-17
CAPTAIN MARVEL 2019-03-18
OUTLAW KING 2019-02-01
MARY POPPINS RETURNS 2019-01-18
VICE 2019-01-11
WIDOWS 2018-12-18
THE HATE U GIVE 2018-11-02
HOCUS POCUS 2018-10-30
CRAZY RICH ASIANS 2018-08-27
BLACKKKLANSMAN 2018-08-16
ANT-MAN AND THE WASP 2018-07-16
DEADPOOL 2 2018-07-11
WOMAN WALKS AHEAD 2018-06-30
BOOK CLUB 2018-06-25
AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR 2018-05-29
ANNIHILATION 2018-04-02
A WRINKLE IN TIME 2018-03-26
TOMB RAIDER 2018-03-20
BLADE RUNNER 2049 2018-03-01
PHANTOM THREAD 2018-01-31
THE POST 2017-12-31
MOLLY'S GAME 2017-12-18
MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS 2017-11-12
NOVITIATE 2017-10-25
KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE 2017-10-17
AMITYVILLE: THE AWAKENING 2017-10-09
AMERICAN MADE 2017-09-30
TULIP FEVER 2017-08-31
SPIDER-MAN:HOMECOMING 2017-07-17
BABY DRIVER 2017-06-27
ALIEN: COVENANT 2017-05-19
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL 2 2017-05-11
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST 2017-03-31
LOGAN 2017-03-03
FIFTY SHADES DARKER 2017-02-23
ARRIVAL 2017-02-15
LA LA LAND 2017-02-14
20th CENTURY WOMEN 2017-01-23
HAIL, CAESAR! 2017-01-20
ALLIED 2017-01-11
THE FOUNDER 2017-01-02
PASSENGERS 2016-12-21
JACKIE 2016-12-18
HACKSAW RIDGE 2016-11-22
MOONLIGHT 2016-11-14
THE DRESSMAKER 2016-10-31
THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN 2016-10-21
MASTERMINDS 2016-09-30
MASTERMINDS 2016-09-30
THE BFG 2016-08-27
ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS 2016-06-05
BATMAN v SUPERMAN: Dawn of Justice 2016-05-09
MILES AHEAD 2016-04-11
THE BIG SHORT 2016-04-04
THE MARTIAN 2016-02-15
BRIDGE OF SPIES 2016-01-22
TRUMBO 2015-12-19
SECRET IN THEIR EYES 2015-12-06
SPY 2015-08-02
TERMINATOR: GENISYS 2015-07-20
JUPITER ASCENDING 2015-02-24
SEVENTH SON 2015-02-24
BIRDMAN 2015-02-01
SELMA 2015-01-21
A MOST VIOLENT YEAR 2015-01-09
THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE 5 ARMIES 2014-12-31
WHIPLASH 2014-12-21
GET ON UP 2014-08-05
CHEF 2014-06-28
X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST 2014-06-13
THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 2014-05-03
NEBRASKA 2014-02-25
LOVELACE 2014-01-08
INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS 2013-12-21
saving mr. banks 2013-12-12
rush 2013-10-07
prisoners 2013-10-01
world war z 2013-07-15
star trek into darkness 2013-06-06
lincoln 2013-01-03
the master 2012-11-17
cloud atlas 2012-11-11
the bourne legacy 2012-10-11
lawless 2012-09-24
the amazing spider-man 2012-09-08
the avengers 2012-05-22
good deeds 2012-03-28
hugo 2012-01-27
the help 2011-12-18
twilight: breaking dawn, part 1 2011-12-13
my week with marilyn 2011-12-04
the ides of march 2011-10-20
what's your number? 2011-10-11
contagion 2011-10-03
cowboys & aliens 2011-08-14
super 8 2011-06-21
the conspirator 2011-05-15
limitless 2011-03-26
little fockers 2011-01-14
the next three days 2011-01-05
the social network 2011-01-04
agora 2010-08-28
knight & day 2010-07-02
sex & the city 2 2010-06-02
sherlock holmes 2010-02-08
the lovely bones 2010-01-26
inglourious basterds 2010-01-10
CIRQUE DU FREAK 2009-11-12
SHOPGIRL 2005-10-26
MR. & MRS. SMITH 2005-08-15
SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE 2005-05-15
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN 2005-02-15
THE CAT IN THE HAT 2005-02-15
DOWN WITH LOVE 2004-08-15
Decorating the Future For SOLARIS 2004-05-15