Customer Reviews

The Virgin Suicides

5 star:		(128)
4 star:		(73)
3 star:		(26)
2 star:		(26)
1 star:		(45)

 

 

'The Virgin Suicides' is a beautiful, understated, and tragic drama, punctuated by great rock music of the late '70s, and featuring terrific performances, particularly by Kirsten Dunst, Josh Hartlett, and a nearly unrecognizable Kathleen Turner. What makes the film even more remarkable is that it is the directorial debut by Francis Ford Coppola's daughter, Sofia, best known prior to this by her less-than-stellar performance in 'Godfather 3'! Her sensitivity with this material establishes her as a director to be reckoned with, and a true talent!

The film focuses on the five Lisbon sisters, beautiful, yet repressed by a religious and overly protective mother (Turner), who encourages their intellectual growth, but tries to block any sexual or emotional stirrings. The girls turn their passions into other channels, bonding tightly with one another, and viewing the world as outsiders. When the youngest attempts, then succeeds at killing herself, the family gains an unwanted notoriety, and a group of local boys begin to worship the remaining sisters from afar, gathering materials, and creating a fantasy world about them.

Lux, the most beautiful and free-spirited of the sisters (Dunst), attracts the attentions of the most popular boy in school, Tripp (Hartnett), who confuses raging hormones with love, and begins a campaign to 'have' her. Winning the respect of their father (James Woods, in another excellent 'against-type' portrayal), he succeeds in wearing the mother down, and arranges 'dates' for the sisters, so he can take Lux to the Homecoming Dance. The party provides the springboard for the tragedy that gives the film its name, and catapults the girls into icons that the boys who admire them can never forget.

There are many reasons to buy this film; Coppola's understanding of how boys and girls interact, and her sure touch with their issues about sexuality; Kirsten Dunst's best performance to date, conveying both sweetness, and barely suppressed erotic desire; Kathleen Turner's breakthrough as a character actress, sacrificing her glamorous persona for a stocky and frumpy matron. There are some excellent cameos, as well, particularly Danny DeVito as a clueless psychiatrist, Scott Glenn as a family priest who offers platitudes instead of comfort, and Michael Paré as an older Tripp, reminiscing about Lux, and their 'love'.

This is a very special film, one that you will not soon forget! I highly recommend it!

The Virgin Suicides is Sofia Coppola's directorial debut, and its effectiveness illustrates that she's better behind the camera than she is in front of it. (Most movie-goers will remember her ill-fated attempt to portray Michael Corleone's daughter in The Godfather III.) Tragic, haunting, and sometimes darkly comedic, this movie leaves a strong impression in its telling of a story about the destruction of innocence. The film is based on the book by Jeffrey Eugenides, which happens to be Coppola's favorite novel. As a result, she felt that, in bringing the adaptation to the screen, she had a strong responsibility to be faithful to the source material.

The time frame is the mid-'70s and the setting is an upper class suburban community in Michigan. The film tells the sad story of the five Lisbon sisters - Cecilia (age 13, played by Hanna Hall), Lux (age 14, played by Kirsten Dunst), Bonnie (age 15, played by Chelsea Swain), Mary (age 16, played by A.J. Cook), and Therese (age 17, played by Leslie Hayman) - all of whom come to a bad end before finishing high school (this much is revealed during the introductory voiceover, which is provided by Giovanni Ribisi). Unhappy, neglected Cecilia is the first to give up on life - after surviving one suicide attempt, she is successful on the second try. In the wake of that event, the atmosphere surrounding the surviving sisters becomes grim, and their parents' overprotectiveness threatens to suffocate them. For most children, mothers and fathers set boundaries; for the Lisbons, it's iron bars.

The Virgin Suicides is filmed as a memory looking back through 25 years, and the point-of-view is that of a boy who was in love with one (or perhaps all) of the girls. As a result, the events recounted here offer a filtered perspective of the sisters and the complexities of their lives. Presenting things in this manner, The Virgin Suicides manages to be both poignant and touchingly nostalgic. Also, Coppola's style is such that she avoids turning the film into a sudsy melodrama that glamorizes self-destruction.

One of The Virgin Suicides' strengths is its ability to effectively capture the nuances of teenage life during the '70s. Coppola gets all of the little things right: the awkwardness of a chaperoned boy/girl party, the thrill of first love, and the nervousness of the pre-dance ritual (in this case, the homecoming dance, not the prom). The film also boasts a solid soundtrack featuring a few songs that haven't been endlessly recycled in other, recent, set-in-the-'70s features. In one key scene, music provides a link between the Lisbon girls and the outside world - it becomes their only viable means of communication and free expression.

Most of the cast is comprised of fresh faces, all of whom do solid jobs. The more recognizable names include Kirsten Dunst as Lux (the girl with the most visible role), James Woods (as the girls' father), and Kathleen Turner (as their mother). Josh Hartnett (last seen as the guy who loses the girl in Here On Earth), who is slowly building a reputation in Hollywood, plays heartthrob Trip Fontaine, whose poor treatment of Lux sets off a chain of events that leads to one of the movie's tragedies. The Virgin Suicides also includes excerpts from a modern-day interview with a forty-something Trip (played by Michael Pare), who clearly has regrets about his treatment of Lux.

By using occasional bursts of humor and setting up the film as a collage of reminiscences, Coppola establishes a mood that is wistful and sad, but not funereal. There are a few instances when the film gets a little heavy handed, but, for the most part, the tone is well modulated. Although Coppola almost certainly gained more than a little help from her famous father in getting the production off the ground, the talent evident in her debut argues that this is not a case of unwarranted nepotism. The apple has not fallen far from the tree.

Apparently those who cannot act, can direct. The legendary bad performance Sofia Coppola turned in for her father's "The Godfather, Part III," will now be reduced to being the prelude to what should be a stunning career as a director. Currently nominated for Oscars for both writing and directing Best Picture nominee "Lost in Translation," Coppola already proved her competence behind the camera in her first full-length feature, "The Virgin Suicides" (She previously made a 14-minute short, "Lick the Star"). They will be arguing heredity versus environment on Sofia Coppola for the next half-century.

As our story begins, we are informed by the film's narrator (Giovanni Ribisi) that the first of the Lisbon sisters to attempt suicide, was the youngest, Cecilia (Hannah Hall). Told by the doctor that she is not old enough to know how bad life gets, Cecilia calmly responds, "Obviously, Doctor, you've never been a thirteen year old girl." Having watched "Thirteen" this week, I know bad that age can be, but that is not what "The Virgin Suicides" are about. This film is more about what the boys in the neighborhood thought about the Lisbon sisters than what drove them to suicide.

Strangely enough, "The Virgin Suicides" is not a black comedy, although there are a few moments along those lines, mostly supplied by the adults in the narrative. The boys in the neighborhood worship the Lisbon sisters as icons of both feminine beauty and mystery, especially Lux (Kirsten Dunst), the second youngest of the quintet and the one who is most determined to have done some living before she dies.

There is a metaphor at work big time in "The Virgin Suicides," because the Lisbon sisters might kill themselves, but the ideal they represented to the boys in the neighborhood will live forever. Coppola creates a wonderful romantic scene when the girls are pulled from school and shut up in their house in maximum security isolation by their mother (Kathleen Turner) after the death of Cecilia. The boys and girls exchange phone calls in which they play songs from their favorites records, never saying a word, but communicating a lot of emotions in their selections. What impresses you about Coppola's direction in this film is that she keeps the story and her camera under control. There really are not big moments in this film, just skillfully crafted small ones.

The cast also features James Woods as the girls' father, Scott Glenn as Father Moody, and Danny Devito as Dr. Horniker. You get the feeling that daddy's name might have gotten them to read the script at which point the script sold them on participating in this one. Josh Hartnett plays Trip Fontaine, the one boy in the neighborhood who grows up to make a move for Lux (and who grows up to be played by Michael Paré). This 1999 film was adapted by Coppola from the novel by Jeffrey Eugenides, which supposedly is Coppola's favorite book. "Lost in Translation" was an original story and script, so Coppola has already moved to the next level. On the basis of these first two films, we certainly have to look forward to what she comes up with next, because Coppola is getting off to a great start behind the camera.

This film was amazing. The entire piece comes off as being a dream or memory(which is what it is), it's so wispy and cryptic. Like memories, the pieces aren't all there. The criticisms I've heard mainly reflect that there is no motivation for the suicides, or that the three 'Non-Lux, non-Cecilia'(i.e., Bonnie, Mary, and Therese) aren't developed. That's the point. The girls aren't intended to be individual characters, but a collective symbol of unobtainable beauty and desire always out of reach. The only reason Cecilia and Lux are as developed as they are is that Cecilia killed herself first, and Lux played a vital role in one particular boy's memory. If another boy had told the story, he may have recalled a version where Bonnie played a key part.

Also, the nature of the suicides was meant to be unknown. That's the premise of the movie. The movie is shown from the perspective of the neighborhood boys, who have never found out why it happened. The movie retains the voyeuristic sense by not letting us know anything the boys never did. In fact, the only time we see inside the house(with the exception of Cecilia's initial attempt, but that is only because the news spread regardless) is when another character is in there whose story eventually gets back to the boys.

The film works best in the first half, when it is virtually without a main plot, and is made up only of fantasies, dreams, and memories. Once we get to the present-day(in the narrator's sense) storyline(the dance), it becomes more like a normal teen flick(while still holding true to the dark suicide theme) and loses the surreality that keeps you captivated in the first forty or so minutes. However, by the time of the sisters' final act, the film has descended back into its incredible feel of 'this-isn't-happening', and the Virgin Suicides pulls off exactly what it promises: a mysterious, seductive tale we can't hope to understand.

'The Virgin Suicides' is one of the most beautiful and underrated films of the past year.

It is most of all a tragic drama, punctuated by a great soundtrack and a just-right reproduction from the mid '70s, and featuring outstanding performances by its mainly young and then-little-known cast, filled with fresh faces. These come from Kirsten Dunst (as doomed and lovely Lux Lisbon), estremely good James Woods, and in a look-again performance, an unbelievably deglamorized Kathleen Turner. Oters that deserve mention are Noah Shebib (as Parkie Denton), Hayden Chritensen (whom will soon be seen in Episode II) and Hanna Hall as Cecilia Lisbon, the opener of the way.

Another remarkable aspect of the film is that it is the directorial debut by Sofia Coppola, reviled by many for her less-than-stellar performance in Godfather III. It is amazing the rapport of sensitivity with this material established by her as a director with many ideas and visions.

Like its source, the acclaimed novel by Jeffrey Eugenides, the story focuses on the lives and eventual deaths of the legendary five Lisbon sisters (Mary, Therese, Bonaventure -- aka "Bonnie"- Cecilia and Lux) growing up in an elegant, tree-lined upper-class suburban enclave near Detroit, circa 1975. They are fabulously beautiful, yet oddly repressed by their well-meaning but stifling parents.

In more ways than one, the Lisbon girls become a some sort of single entity, and with the spectacular suicide of the youngest sibling, they take a step in a strange direction that will transform them into history for a group of boys in the neighborhood, who, in their adult years, keep their obsession alive.

In a more mundane aspect, we have the seeds of tragedy sown in a most commonplace way, and yet it is disturbing for it has happened to many of us before. Lux, the most beautiful and free-spirited of the sisters, attracts the most popular jock from their private school, Trip Fontaine (a lukewarm Josh Hartnett), who has all the wrong reasons to "woo" her, pulling the touching stunt (but nevertheless, a stunt) of having his chums as support to take Lux & Co. to the Homecoming Dance.

The party (which provides a nostalgia look as the Carrie prom gone ok), is in a way the catalyst for the tragedy that'll ensue.

There are many reasons to watch again this film; Sofia Coppola's assured touch on human relations and the reaction upon the screen; it also features Kirsten Dunst's best performance to date, Kathleen Turner's turn as a character actor, and the superb recreation of "Stepford Country".

Definitely one of the year's best, a top-drawer recommendation.

"The Virgin Suicides" is a powerful and finely nuanced movie. The plot centers on five beautiful blonde sisters, "The Lisbon Sisters," who live with their overly protective parents in an upscale suburb of Detroit. The narrative is told from the vantage point of an awkward teenage male, now grown up, who lived near them. He and his friends were mesmerized by them and years later still talk about them and sift through their memorabilia of them.
The movie begins with the first two suicide attempts of the youngest sister Cecilia, with the second one being successful. It then traces the impact of her death on her family and her neighbors-with the parents becoming even more protective of their four surviving daughters. Trouble though, comes from Luz, now the youngest and the most vibrant and flirtatious. She falls for the school hunk-and he for her-and with her sisters and their escorts goes to the homecoming dance. This proves to be fatal for all involved.
Sofia Coppola did an amazing job with this movie for a first time director. She focuses on small details-for example, the bracelets that cover the scarred wrists of Cecilia after her first suicide attempt-that tell so much. She pulled an outstanding performance out of Kirsten Dunst who played Luz. She also compiled an amazing soundtrack and score.
I would recommend this movie for those who enjoy "arty" serious films, 70's films, and women-themed movies.It is definitely not a "feel good" movie-but it will stay with you far longer than most other films.

Based upon the best-selling novel of the same name, this is an intriguing film that showcases the directorial debut of Sofia Coppola, daughter of revered director Francis Coppola. She does a fairly masterful job, indicative of the fact that the apple appears not to have fallen far from the tree. Ms. Coppola exacts tight, well-nuanced performances from the stellar cast, creating an interesting and quirky little gem of a film.

The crux of the film takes place in the mid-nineteen seventies in a suburban town in Michigan and is centered upon the lovely Lisbon sisters. Originally five in number, one takes a header out the window in a successful suicide attempt, leaving the four older ones to continue to live with their repressive parents. This suicide garners press attention, and the Lisbon sister arouse the curiosity of the local teenage boys, become goddesses upon whom their adolescent sexual curiosity falls. In their eyes, the surviving Lisbon sisters are the local "It" girls.

Their father (James Woods), a teacher in the local high school, seems dominated by his wife (Kathleen Turner), who as a mother has certain failings. She is quite repressive, and, while instilling in her daughters intellectual curiosity, she does all she can to ensure that they become stunted emotionally, crushing their budding sexuality by any means necessary, no matter how draconian. Still, the oldest one, Lux (Kirsten Dunst) manages to nurture a crush on Trip (Josh Harnett), the dreamy high school football quarter back, who also has a thing for her.

Trip corners Mr. Lisbon at school one day and tells him that he wishes to take Lux to the homecoming dance. Trip asserts that his intentions are honorable and that, moreover, he would ensures that all the sisters would have a date for the dance, which they could all attend together. He persuades Mr. Lisbon to discuss the possibility with his wife. She reluctantly agrees, after all, their father will be chaperoning the dance, but makes them wear girlish dresses that hang like sacks on them. Still, the girls do not let this fashion faux pas diminish their excitement about going to the homecoming dance. They do not realize that it would be the beginning of the end for them.

The dance itself is a success, as Lux and Trip are crowned the homecoming dance king and queen. What starts out as a fairytale date, however, ends up a disaster, when Trip fails to bring Lux home at the appointed hour. Taking a detour to the local football field, Trip and Lux end up doing what a lot of teenagers do when they think that they are in love. It turns out to be less than idyllic and a disillusioned Lux returns home alone the next morning, Even though the others returned home as promised, mommy dearest punishes them all, keeping them imprisoned in their home and sequestered from friends and classmates, forbidden to even attend school.

As the Lisbon sisters draw in upon themselves, they become even more of a curiosity for the local teenage boys. In their eyes, these surviving Lisbon sisters are made more mysterious and alluring by their very sequestration, achieving almost iconic status. It is through them that the Lisbon girls manage to retain a semblance of a normal life, communicating with them oftentimes through the music that teenagers share over that instrument that serves to bind teenagers, the telephone. Still this is not normal congress in the context in which it occurs, and the Lisbon girls turn melancholy. Even so, however, the final denouement is sure to shock the viewer.

This film is perfectly cast, and excellent, finely nuanced performances are given by the entire cast. While it is not a film that everyone will enjoy, as it is quite quirky, those who like films with a slight twist to them will enjoy this off-beat, edgy film.

I love this film and I don't have a clear idea why.
It just the kind of film that keeps you thinking. Did it really happen like that or did the boys' imagination went too far? The images are haunting. The cinematography is simply beautiful, it was so beautiful its hard to explain. It reflects the girls beauty, I think. The acting is superb. Some may complain that it's too plain, but it's (the acting) just right. Cause the girls aren't real. They are a memory of an obsession. A very hard role handled superbly by Kirsten Dunst and the other actresses, whose roles were more like cameos, if you ask me. Katheleen Turner and James Wood do an extraordinary job with the parents. We don't know much about their characters, but they do. Turner makes everything Mrs.Lisbon does plausible, a very hard thing, if you ask me.
Great Directorial debut for Sophia Coppola. She creates the mood for this beautiful film. Without her, the film would've had been nothing...
And the score. It's just too great for words. It haunts you, keeps your eyes on the screen, makes you want to know more about these beautiful virgins.
BTW, I read someone was complaining about the title, saying that they aren't all virgens and that the ones that ARE virgins, their virginity plays no important part in the movie, well, I think the title isn't talkin about their virginity as in sex, but about their minds. Their minds are virgins to full maturity. Take Lux as an example, she wasn't a sexual virgin (or whatever you like to call it), but she was a mind virgin. She may've been sexually mature for sex (therefore, making her a none virgin) but she wasn't mentally mature to understand sex or love, making her a mind virgin. Or simply a virgin... so, are they all virgins in some ways or another? YES! Did they all commit suicide? YES! there you go! the title has been explained...
Oh! and feel free to contradict me or call me stupid cause I didn't get it or something...

I have to disagree with "flickjunkie". I thought this movie was really good. The acting was wonderful throughout and the scenes were gorgeous.

The suicides were a by product. The movie is about growing up, first loves, obsession and oppression. The statement that suicides are predictable and obvious, thus preventable is ridiculous. That's the point.

But, back to my original statement. The Book! I was fortunate enough to have read the book before seeing the movie. The book gives insight that the movie does not. Characters and motivation are more spelled out for those who need it. Read the book and then watch or rewatch the movie. Things will be more clear, background wise and your movie experience will be more enjoyable.

But for all intents and purposes this is an excellent movie. It boasts an amazing cast and is moving and haunting.

Subtle and powerful, the Virgin Suicides is like a visual poem of wishes and dreams colliding violently with a harsh reality. This is a quiet masterpiece and the auteur director writer has impressed me with her talent. The visuals and the music are inspired.
I was very moved by the plight of the sisters whose mother is malevolently selfish, and the plight of the neighborhood boys that love the sisters.