The Beguiled

Here you go.

Shh.

Are you frightened?

No.

Yes.

Uh, so am I.

Can you move at all?

Uh... Uh, I'll try, if there's some place to go.

The Farnsworth school is just on the other side of the woods.

The Miss Martha Farnsworth Seminary for Young Ladies.

Any men about there?

Just four other students, a teacher, and Miss Farnsworth.

The slaves left.

I can't say you'll be welcome as a Yankee,

but it will be better than here.

True enough.

I'll accept your invitation. Can you give me a hand up?

Just give me a minute, will you? To catch my breath.

Yes, sir.

Come here.

You're a lot heavier than my brother.

Where's he now?

He got killed in Tennessee.

Oh, well, that wasn't none of us.

I was never in Tennessee.

What's your name?

Amelia Dabney.

Mine's McBurney.

Corporal John McBurney.

Pleased to make your acquaintance, Corporal.

McBURNEY: We're off to, where was it now?

To Miss Farnsworth's Seminary for Young Ladies.

McBURNEY: With only five students?

The other girls have gone home,

but Miss Martha kept it open.

It was mainly because we don't have anywhere else to go.

My home is Georgia,

but my mother thought it would be better

if I stayed up here in Virginia for a while,

what with your General Sherman down there so close to Atlanta and all.

Did you run away?

McBURNEY: I was with the Sixty-Sixth out of New York.

We got hit,

I fell and... (PANTING)

Everything began to blaze.

Do you want to go back? I can show you the way?

McBURNEY: Not now.

Maybe later when my leg stops bleeding.

...and now the verb "to be."

Miss Emily.

Très bien.

Miss Martha!

Marie, come with me.

Help!

Miss Martha! (YELPS)

Miss Martha!

Amy! Help!

What happened?

Are you all right?

(MISS MARTHA AND MARIE PANTING)

How did he get here?

He was all alone in the woods.

I couldn't leave him there to die.

You know you're not supposed to go that far!

Is he dead? Uh...

No.

Not yet.

Quick, we need to move him to the porch.

Lift him up. Edwina, grab a shoulder.

Yes, Miss Martha. Girls!

Let's get him to the porch. Quick! Quick!

We all need to help. Get his legs, girls.

One, two, lift.

He could be dangerous, Miss Martha.

Just pick him up.

McBURNEY: (MUMBLING) Sixty-Sixth New York, ma'am.

Grateful to be your prisoner.

He's a real blue belly.

You know they rape every Southern woman they come across.

Would you stop that nonsense, Jane!

It's true.

You couldn't tell from his face he was a Yankee, would you?

Amy, I need you to run inside,

get the blue rag, and tie it on the gate.

The blue rag's so the patrol knows we've captured a live Yankee.

Why did you not call out?

You must have seen them crossing the fields.

I'm sorry, Miss Martha.

I forgot it was my turn to look out.

You cannot forget this.

Next time it'll be Union scroungers in our garden.

That's how we lost most of our chickens.

All right.

Now, Marie, get up there.

Call out if you see any of our soldiers.

Yes, ma'am.

We ought to wash his wound.

Yes.

And we're gonna need to sew it up.

Uh...

Amy, did I not tell you,

get the blue rag, tie it on the gate for the patrol.

After all the blood he's lost, he'd die now if he went.

Wouldn't it be the Christian thing to do?

Yes. Yes, you're right.

It would be.

He's never going to make it.

So, we're going to wait until he's in better shape,

before he's taken away. Get him inside.

Come on.

I'm going to need you to put hot water on to boil, Emily.

And we're gonna need cloth.

Anything we can spare.

Alicia, Jane,

you find that cloth and you bring it to the music room.

You hear me? Yes, ma'am.

All right.

Miss Edwina.

Shut the door, girls.

I need scissors.

Yes, Miss Martha.

Here.

Ugh.

Go get me some more cloth.

I need cloth, now. Yes, Miss Martha.

There's enough metal in here to shoe a horse.

I think I got most of it.

I'm gonna need a needle now.

Get me the thread and needle.

Back up. I can't... (WHISPERING) Stop it.

Do you hear what they're saying?

No, I didn't.

Edwina, get me some water.

I'm gonna clean him.

Yes, Miss Martha.

I thought so.

Is he going to die?

Not today, I don't think.

What'll happen?

We'll turn him over to the patrol, of course.

In the meantime, I don't want you lurking around here.

Or poking around in this room. Do you hear me?

His name, in case you've wondered,

is Corporal John McBurney.

Well, he's not going to be here long enough

for his name to make any difference to us.

Now, there's been too much distraction,

so no more studying today.

We have a lot of mending to do.

Mmm. Good.

To the sewing room. Come on, girls.

I won't be here much longer, Amy.

Careful, keep your stitches in a straight row.

Jane, it's the same for you as all of us,

you don't leave because there's nowhere for you to go.

There is so.

My father is with General Lee

and if I so desired,

soldiers would come escort me to him right now.

If anybody knew where that was.

Nice and even.

My mother wrote me from Charleston that the blockade is fearful.

She says I probably eat better here than I would at home.

You do.

You should have never brought that Yankee here.

I agree.

He's probably a spy

and will let the blue bellies in at night to raid our garden.

I doubt that, Miss Jane.

Miss Edwina, aren't you afraid of that blue belly?

No.

And it is very bad manners to call him that.

He has a name,

Corporal John McBurney.

John.

Let's see. Am I doing it right?

Yes, but you can get your stitches closer together.

All right.

It's our boys, Miss Martha.

They're passing our way.

Can't we go and greet them?