Genre: Comedy/Drama
Director: Marcos Siega
Starring: Evan Rachel Wood, James Woods, Ron Livingston
RunTime: 1 hr 45 mins
Released By: Shaw
Rating: M18 (Sexual References)
Official Website: http://www.prettypersuasionthemovie.com

Opening Day: 24 August 2006

Synopsis :

Kimberly Joyce, an insanely intelligent, wildly funny, shockingly cruel and sexy-beyond-her-years Beverly Hills teenager will stop at nothing to become famous. Believing the world is an orchestra and she is the conductor, Kimberly masterfully manipulates all those around her. She convinces her two best friends to join her in a campaign against their befuddled teacher, Mr. Anderson. Kimberly entangles the entire Beverly Hills community in her carefully woven web of seduction and deceit.

Movie Review:

As I sat there, joyously stunned by the unapologetic shock of Pretty Persuasion, I was stunned by the brazen satire of the ugliness inherent within the American High School system, one that gleefully navigates through raunchy sex humor while savaging its targets with a firm and uncompromising fist. Pretty Persuasion is a comedy built upon sincere anger and outrage, and I for one applaud the filmmakers' unflinching commitment to making their point in the most outspoken fashion imaginable.

The film begins with Kimberly Joyce (Wood) introducing recently arrived Middle Eastern immigrant Randa (Adi Schnall) to her ritzy Beverly Hills high school. Kimberly thinks she's a kind-hearted and open-minded little ingénue, yet it only takes a few short minutes before we realize there's a black soul hidden beneath this lovely exterior. Along with her adorable-yet-obtuse best friend Brittany, Kim takes Randa under her wing, intent on introducing Randa to what their world is all about: basically she teaches the fine art of sexual manipulation, intolerance and venomous selfishness. (It will only take about 13 minutes of Pretty Persuasion before you absolutely despise young Kim...but you also won't be able to take your eyes off of this gruesomely nasty train-wreck of a teenager.) Fired from playing Anne Frank in the school play, Kimberly recruits Randa, as well as her best friend Brittany (Elisabeth Harnois), to falsely accuse their English and drama teacher, Mr. Anderson (Ron Livingston), of sexual assault and soon the film quickly envelopes itself with deceit, vengeance and pure manipulation. And thus begins a media frenzy of epic proportions. A colorful collection of sick-souled scumbags and opportunistic leeches populate the periphery, none as howlingly hilarious as Kim's own father. While Pretty Persuasion enrobed with the most politically incorrect statements, the whole set-up is too kinky to be serious and too self-aware of its critical purpose - in one of the film's darker scenes, Randa writes "We are all sinners" in Arabic on a chalkboard.

In the lead role, Evan Rachel Wood is simply spot-on who is able to channel such a level of noxious malignance. In addition to James Woods' horrifically entertaining performance, we're offered some great supporting work from the likes of Selma Blair (as Percy's wife) and Jane Krakowski (as an opportunistic (lesbian) TV reporter). And a special bout of praise is due to both Elisabeth Harnois (as Brittany) and Adi Schnall (as Randa). Both young actresses bring a decidedly different flavor to the proceedings, and both serve as effective counter-weights to Kim and her voracious cruelty.

On its surface, Pretty Persuasion is frequently drop-dead hilarious in an "Oh my god, did they really say that??" sort of way. But as Kim wriggles deeper and deeper into the muck of her own trenchant selfishness, the movie becomes one of the more audacious and unapologetic social commentaries you're likely to see.

This is a movie that speaks volumes to the thick-skinned cynic and the cautiously-optimistic idealist that co-exist within yours truly. It's a dangerously dark and perpetually ballsy caricature that contains more truth and insight than just about any other "teenager" movie you're likely to see. Expect this movie to divide audience right down the middle, inspire an untold number of outraged responses, and cause all sorts of hand-wringing controversy. And frankly I think that's a damn good thing for a movie to do.

Movie Rating:

(Engulf in the manipulative mind of the most politically incorrect black comedy)

Review by Lokman B S