This 90% Rotten Tomatoes Clint Eastwood Thriller Is A Surprising Inspiration For Hit Series 'Yellowjackets'

This 90% Rotten Tomatoes Clint Eastwood Thriller Is A Surprising Inspiration For Hit Series 'Yellowjackets' Image via Universal Pictures By  Carolyn Jenkins Published 7 minutes ago Rotten Tomatoes | Letterboxd | Metacritic Carolyn Jenkins is a voracious consumer of film and television. She graduated from Long Island University with an MFA in Screenwriting and Producing where she learned the art of character, plot, and structure. The best teacher is absorbing media and she spends her time reading about different worlds from teen angst to the universe of Stephen King. Sign in to your Collider account Summary Generate a summary of this story follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap

The concept of women behaving badly is the foundation on which the entire Yellowjackets series was built, although it wasn’t the first depiction of it. The Showtime series takes inspiration from the unlikely source of a Clint Eastwood film from the ‘70s. Eastwood was largely known for his contribution to Westerns at the time, but took a different turn in the 1971 film, The Beguiled. Set during the Civil War era, the actor portrays Union soldier John McBurney, who finds himself wounded and in enemy territory. After a run-in with a student at a seminary for young ladies, the group of southern women allows John to recuperate at the school.

The longer John stays at the school, however, the more dangerous it becomes. He works his magic on each of the women there, and many become infatuated with him. This causes rampant jealousy between the women and eventually leads to violence when John is beaten and falls down the stairs. To allegedly prevent gangrene from setting in, the matron at the school, Miss Martha Farnsworth (Geraldine Page), amputates his leg. The final act of violence occurs at the end of the film and connects to Yellowjackets more than it may seem.

Misty Represents Female Unpredictability in ‘Yellowjackets’

Yellowjackets draws from many pop culture touchstones, most notably the movie Alive, which was based on the rugby team that got stranded in the Andes. The series takes these aspects and makes them its own in the supernatural survival show. The same is true for The Beguiled, which has more than a few similarities. Misty Quigley, played by Samantha Hanratty in her teen years, quickly adapts to the new rules of the world.

Just as in The Beguiled, there are only a few male characters subject to the whims of an ever-changing social system created by females. One of the victims of this system is Coach Ben (Steven Krueger), who quickly realizes his destiny is out of his control. Though the only adult in the situation, Ben’s authority slips quickly. This is in part due to the injury he sustains when the soccer team crash-lands into the Canadian wilderness. Whether she was truly trying to help or found it would be more advantageous to her to have the coach crippled, Misty performs an emergency amputation of his leg. Like John McBurney, Ben also mourns the loss of his leg, but it proves to be only the beginning of his struggles.

While John attempts to create a connection with the girls in the school, Ben is on the other side of the spectrum. His only desire is to see civilization again, which gets complicated when Misty foists her teenage hormones onto him. Ben makes it clear that he can never be with Misty, and not just because of his sexuality. The coach is a good person who is sickened at even the thought of what the girls will do to survive in the wilderness. Both The Beguiled and Yellowjackets depict the mercurial nature of girlhood, which has its pros and cons. Ben and John get these consequences at the hands of girls who are more vicious than they may first appear to be. Viewers can catch this underrated gem by buying or renting The Beguiled on most digital platforms.

The Beguiled

Like R Drama Thriller War Release Date January 23, 1971 Runtime 105 minutes Director Don Siegel Writers Albert Maltz, Claude Traverse Producers Clint Eastwood, Jennings Lang

Cast

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• Clint Eastwood John McBurney
• Geraldine Page Martha

Genres Drama, Thriller, War Powered by Expand Collapse

• Movie Features
• Yellowjackets
• Clint Eastwood

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