CPE Film Review: Practical Magic

Practical Magic is a Warner Bros film which was released in 1998 and was based on a book by Alice Hoffman. This supernatural comedy-drama is the story of a long distinguished line of female witches who are the victims of a curse as “any man who dares love an Owen woman is doomed to die”.

Sandra Bullock (Sally Owen) plays a young botanist who tries desperately to live a magic-free life only to find herself victim of the curse when her beloved husband dies. Nicole Kidman, her sister (Gilly Owen), has her own share of suffering when her love spell backfires and her delinquent boyfriend tries to kill her. This is actually the climax of the story when Sandra Bullock is forced to embrace her long-denied wiccan legacy to tap into the magic she urgently needs to save her sibling.

Even though Practical Magic has been severely criticised by Hollywood reviews, allegedly because of its light-hearted plot, there are a couple of strong points which  I like about the film and I believe are worth mentioning: The setting, for a start. The story develops in a lovely village which is a kind of New England and you can actually see what a wonderful job they did with the scenography. Then, there is the soundtrack, which includes one of my favourite songs of all times “This Kiss” by Faith Hill.

I would no doubt recommend Practical Magic to anyone who is fond of fantasy films like me, or who is interested in witch stories or magic.

Gustavo Albarracín 


Are you planning to take the CPE exam soon? Take a look at some other CPE Sample Writings:

Film Review "Vertigo". Click here.

Did you like this post? Give us a LIKE on facebook.  http://www.facebook.com/cpesamplewritings