Pretty Persuasion

What emerges from this almost satisfying mess of a film is the fact that Evan Rachel Wood is quickly becoming one of the best young actresses around. It attempts an Election- style satire of, well, just about everything, though is set in a Beverly Hills prep school -- the world of a 15-year-old puppet master. Her goal is to become an actress, so she convinces a couple of her friends to play along and accuse their English teacher of sexual harrassment, and while he does fantasize about his female students, he hasn't harrassed them. Unfortunately, despite some fairly funny moments, the films satire just doesn't hold together, and while Marcos Siega's direction seems unusually efficient and restrained for an ex-music video vet, it isn't particularly good. There is wasted potential in there somewhere.