The unexpected arrival of a wounded Union soldier at a girls school in Virginia during the American Civil War leads to jealousy and betrayal.
Three years into the American Civil War, in 1864, the dilapidated mansion of Miss Martha Farnsworth's Seminary for Young Ladies is still running, occupied by the matriarch, a teacher, and five students in Spanish-moss-draped Virginia. However, when a young student stumbles upon Corporal John McBurney, a wounded Union deserter on the verge of death, the already frail balance of things will be disrupted, as the hesitant headmistress decides to take him in to heal from his injury. Little by little, as the unwelcome guest arouses an uneasy sexual excitation among the women of the secluded boarding school, it is not before long that they will find themselves competing for the alluring man's favour. Undoubtedly, this handsome devil is a manipulator; nevertheless, will the ladies stay forever beguiled by his charm?—Nick Riganas
Martha Farnsworth runs a girls school in Virginia during the Civil War. By 1864, almost all of the students, teachers, and slaves have left; only five students and one teacher, Edwina Morrow, remain. While out in the woods searching for mushrooms, Amy, a pupil, comes across John McBurney, a corporal in the Union Army who was wounded in the leg during battle, and has since deserted. Amy brings McBurney to the school where he falls unconscious. The women lock McBurney in one of the rooms while Miss Farnsworth tends to his wounds. All the women and girls in the school are immediately fascinated by the handsome man..
In 1864, badly wounded, deserted Northern corporal John McBurney drags himself near the stately manor turned into a posh finishing school, Miss Martha Farnsworth's Seminary for Young Ladies in Civil War-torn Virginia. Found by Amy, one of the five remaining students, he's taken in to be nursed and the only available feast of manly splendor for the eyes of six single females. Initially he's locked in for safety and 'modesty', but once properly recovering interacts, even too intimately and somewhat manipulatively, with a few of his 'secret' admirers. Emotions rise and conflicts, but when after a festive phase he's considered out of control, the six conspire cruelly.—KGF Vissers
Martha Farnsworth (Nicole Kidman) is leading a girl's school (The Miss Farnsworth Seminary for Young Ladies) in Virginia during the American Civil War. By 1864, almost all of the students, teachers, and slaves have left. Only teacher Edwina Morrow (Kirsten Dunst) and five students stay with Miss Farnsworth. The students are Alicia (Elle Fanning), Jane (Angourie Rice), Amy (Oona Laurence), Emily (Emma Howard), and Marie (Addison Riecke). The other girls had returned home, but Martha kept the school open as the remaining 5 girls had nowhere else to go.Most of the remaining girls are young, with Alicia being the oldest of the lot and close to being a woman.
The estate itself is vast, and heavily wooded, with a mansion in the middle of it, where the teachers and the students stay. Due to the lack of slaves, the estate has run into a state of disrepair as nature took over the gardens and the surrounding woods.
While out in the woods searching for mushrooms, Amy, one of the students, comes across John McBurney (Colin Farrell), a corporal in the Union Army who was wounded in the leg during battle and has since deserted the battlefield. McBurney was with the 66th Infantry Unit in New York, when they got it.Amy brings McBurney to the school where he falls unconscious. The women lock McBurney in one of the rooms while Miss Farnsworth tends to his wounds. All the women and girls in the school are immediately fascinated by the handsome man.
At the beginning, some residents want him to be delivered as a prisoner of war to the Confederate Army, but Miss Farnsworth decides that they will let his leg heal before they decide what they will do with him. The girls agree that if he is handed over in his wounded condition, he is likely not to survive. The leg itself is mangled with shrapnel. Miss Farnsworth works with Miss Morrow to remove the metal fragments and to sew up the leg, as best as she can, using whiskey to disinfect the wound. Farnsworth gives McBurney a sponge bath and gets a little excited looking at his half naked body and strong physique.
When Confederate soldiers arrive at the school, Miss Farnsworth does not tell them that a Union soldier is on the premises. Farnsworth requests the Captain (Wayne Pere) to spare a few cartridges for her father's revolver, and says that she would feel safer if she knew that she could use it in the time of an emergency.
McBurney regains consciousness and Farnsworth tells him that he is not welcome in the house and that he should not be expected to be entertained.While he is recovering, the women and girls fight for McBurney's attention and affection, giving him presents, wearing jewelry and preparing a luxurious dinner for him. He returns the affection, especially concentrating on Miss Morrow and Miss Farnsworth. Morrow says that her biggest wish in life is to be taken away from the school.
Farnsworth does her best to keep the girls in line around McBurney and not to lose their self-control. She insists that McBurney is a temporary visitor to the school and the girls would be better off by not complicating things.When he is able to move again, he begins to help in the garden. Within no time, the garden is looking fresh and well cared for. It becomes clear that he fears returning to the war.
When Miss Farnsworth indicates that he is healthy enough and will have to leave the school in a few days, he tries to convince her to let him stay as a gardener. He furthermore tells Miss Morrow that he has fallen in love with her & kisses her.
One night, he tells Miss Morrow to await him in her room. But when he does not appear and she hears strange noises, she investigates and finds him in bed with Alicia, a teen-aged student. When McBurney tries to calm Miss Morrow down, she pushes him away, leading to him falling down the stairs and badly breaking his already injured leg. Miss Farnsworth decides that the only way to save him is to amputate his leg.Alicia spares Miss Morrow by claiming McBurney forced himself onto her.
When McBurney awakes the next day and realizes he has lost his leg, he is devastated and furious, accusing the women, and especially Miss Farnsworth, of having punished him for not choosing their rooms instead of Alicia's. He is locked up in his room but threatens Alicia to get him the room key. He then breaks out, steals a gun, threatens the women, and then storms off. When Farnsworth sends Amy to the gate to signal McBurney's presence to Confederate troops, he spots her and pursues her at gunpoint to a shed, where Farnsworth rescues her by talking him down.
Miss Morrow follows him to his room where they have passionate sex.After McBurney storms out, Farnsworth and the students try to find a solution to the issue. One of the students suggests killing McBurney by preparing a dinner for him using some poisonous mushrooms, to which she agrees. During the dinner, Miss Morrow, who is not informed of the plan, is deterred by the others at the last minute from putting the mushrooms on her own plate. McBurney does not get suspicious and eats the mushrooms. Seconds later he falls to the floor, dead.
While the others are sewing McBurney's body into a shroud, Miss Morrow looks on, devastated. The women drag his body to the road to let him be found by the next soldiers who come by.
