Pretty Persuasion

Teen vixen and all-round nasty piece of work Kimberly (Rachel-Wood) hatches a plan to avenge her teacher (an excellent Ron Livingston) who has belittled her in front of her classmates, insinuating allegations of a sexual nature. Kimberly's cause is not helped by her father's (James Woods) unwillingness to support her as the plan takes a few unexpected turns. Obviously not concerned by typecasting, Rachel-Wood plays her 2nd teenage vixen in as many months (the other being Down in the Valley), and does it so well - think a young Catherine Tramell in Basic Instinct - that you believe this girl will do anything for her shot at fame. Rachel-Wood's beauty is not just skin-deep or even during her 'nasty' moments (although they are funny); it's the movie's more subtle junctures, when her character lets down her guard, that you really see the range that Evan Rachel Wood truly has. Acting opposite an on-top-of-his-game James Woods isn't easy on most actors but Rachel-Wood more than holds her own. On the downside, first-time director Siega doesn't always have a clear grasp of what's ahead of him, and a shock twist towards the end feels like something out of a different movie; but Pretty Persuasion none the less entertains and amuses in equal measure.