Pretty Persuasion (2005)

Director:

Marcos Siega

Writer:

Skander Halim (written by)

Release Date:

25 May 2006 (South Africa)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Evil comes in a school uniform.

Plot:

A 15-year-old girl incites chaos among her friends and a media frenzy when she accuses her drama teacher of sexual harassment.

Plot Keywords:

Teacher | Sexual Harassment | Drama Teacher | Trial | Sexual Assault

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Evan Rachel Wood	...	Kimberly Joyce
David Wagner	...	Morgan (as David T. Wagner)
Brent Goldberg	...	Rick
Adi Schnall	...	Randa
Elisabeth Harnois	...	Brittany
Stark Sands	...	Troy
Jane Krakowski	...	Emily Klein
Michael Hitchcock	...	Headmaster Charles Meyer
Danny Comden	...	Roger Nicholl
Jaime King	...	Kathy Joyce
Josh Zuckerman	...	Josh Horowitz
James Snyder	...	Dave
Ron Livingston	...	Percy Anderson
Cody McMains	...	Kenny
Mike Erwin	...	Barry

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexual content and graphic dialogue involving teens, and language.

Runtime:

USA:104 min | UK:110 min | Argentina:107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia/Ontario) | Australia:MA | UK:18 | Ireland:16 | Malaysia:(Banned) | Singapore:M18 | Finland:K-15 | Argentina:16 | Netherlands:12 | Portugal:M/16

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Company:

REN-Mar Studios

Trivia:

In the casting office scene, the photos on the wall are of actual child actresses, including Tamara Hope and Lindsay Felton.

Quotes:

Roger Nicholl: You wanna know why she's going to ruin you? 'Cause she knows that you can't do anything about it, that's why. I mean, forget math, English, science. For them, high school is all about cockteasing 101, and I've got news for you - those two are on the honor roll.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Be Kind Rewind (2008)

Soundtrack:

Summer Rain

A Marvel of Inappropriateness indeed

I personally was not disappointed by the film. I am continually impressed by Evan Rachel Wood's skills as an actress. Her darkness was so real, the evil inside of her was almost moving. Hilariously dark and witty, James Woods and Evan Rachel Wood kept me laughing and in shock. Pretty Persuasion left me sitting in the theater saying "Oh my god, they did not just say that. Wait, yes they did just go there". The ending was fitting somehow. As shocking and comical as Pretty Persuasion was, it did deliver a powerful message. People are flawed. Not everything in this world is wholesome and good. When it came to manipulation and intelligence, Kimberly Joyce had everything in spades, but when it comes to deception sometimes getting what you want is the easy part, realizing what that says about you and what it all means is the difficult part. Pretty Persuasion is one of the better dark films i've seen come around since Ghost World. Although shocking and sexual, there is no real nudity or graphic sex scenes in the whole film. Everything is left to the imagination, just like Kimberly wanted. Creul Intentions meets Mean Girls on steroids. I loved every shocking minute of it.