An injured Union soldier (Colin Farrell) arrives at an all-female Southern boarding school during the Civil War. Soon, sexual tensions lead to dangerous rivalries as the women tend to his wounds and offer him shelter and companionship. The school's owner and headmistress is Martha Farnsworth (Nicole Kidman, in a performance pitched deftly between ice and fire). Sheltered, frustrated Edwina (Kirsten Dunst, subtle and touching) sees the soldier as a tender soul who can sweep her away from the life she secretly hates. Alicia (Elle Fanning, both sultry and doelike) is simply the bad gal. By the time director Sofia Coppola unveils her haunting final shot and lets it linger for a minute, her wildly thrilling new movie has made one thing very clear: Even the most prim and possessed of women have always had needs, but men ought to be careful who they mess with. Kidman won a Special Prize at last month's Cannes Film Festival, where Coppola became the second woman ever to win the Best Director award. The Beguiled is one of the first must-sees of the summer.