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The Virgin Suicides (1999)

tomatometer

76

Average Rating: 6.9/10
Reviews Counted: 94
Fresh: 71 | Rotten: 23

Sofia's successful directorial debut lies in the movie's compelling story and the actors' genuine emotions.

94

Average Rating: 7.5/10
Critic Reviews: 17
Fresh: 16 | Rotten: 1

Sofia's successful directorial debut lies in the movie's compelling story and the actors' genuine emotions.

audience

80

liked it
Average Rating: 3.5/5
User Ratings: 168,922

My Rating

Movie Info

A dark comedy punctuated by moments of drama, The Virgin Suicides explores the emotional underpinnings of a family starting to come apart at the seams in 1970's Midwestern America. The Lisbons seem like an ordinary enough family; Father (James Woods) teaches math at a high school in Michigan, Mother (Kathleen Turner) has a strong religious faith, and they have five teenage daughters, ranging from 13-year-old Cecilia (Hannah Hall) to 17-year-old Therese (Leslie Hayman). However, the Lisbon

R, 1 hr. 37 min.

Drama

Sofia Coppola

Dec 19, 2000

Paramount Pictures

Cast

All Critics (94) | Top Critics (17) | Fresh (74) | Rotten (23) | DVD (22)

Sofia Coppola tackles the issue of teenage suicide with an assured treatment in The Virgin Suicides, effectively employing a seriocomic tone.

July 18, 2007 Full Review Source: Variety | Comment
Variety
Top Critic IconTop Critic

A very curious and eclectic piece of work.

July 18, 2007 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | Comment
Chicago Reader
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A lovely, luminous dream.

January 1, 2000 Comment
Film.com
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Tragic, haunting, and sometimes darkly comedic, this movie leaves a strong impression in its telling of a story about the destruction of innocence.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: ReelViews | Comment
ReelViews
Top Critic IconTop Critic

A weird and glorious tribute to ephemera of every possible sort.

January 1, 2000 Comment
Film.com
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Worth seeing.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | Comment
Entertainment Weekly
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Intense, imperfect movie about teen suicide.

December 29, 2010 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | Comment
Common Sense Media

Sofia Coppola's compelling, ethereal fable about adolescent loss of innocence is claustrophobic and uncomfortable, but profoundly affecting and gently funny. "The Virgin Suicides" advises teen years are sometimes best remembered as a long-ago vacation.

November 22, 2010 Full Review Source: Suite101.com | Comment
Suite101.com

Sofia Coppola's adaptation of Jeffery Eugenides' 1993 novel plays like a sweet, sad dream.

August 7, 2008 Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | Comment
Sacramento News & Review

It's yet another case of blame-the-parents, and, more precisely, blame-the-overprotective-mother.

July 24, 2007 Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | Comments (3)
eFilmCritic.com

An assured feature debut, this darkly humorous exploration of a tough subject benefits from an original narrative and the fact that the appealing cast consists of actors who are the same age as the characters they play.

October 21, 2006 Comment

The strongest directorial debut of the year.

May 26, 2006 Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | Comment
Combustible Celluloid

The tone of wistful regret and longing doesn't preclude a good deal of gentle humour. It's a restrained, subtly suggestive piece which disintegrates if you try to get a fix on it.

January 26, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out | Comment

A rather stunted and sliggish exercise in style whose sporadically haunting visual quality doesn't make up for its shallowness and ponderous pace.

December 6, 2005 Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | Comment
One Guy's Opinion

A stellar debut feature from Sofia Coppola and it's a must see.

December 6, 2005 Full Review Source: Film Threat | Comment
Film Threat

Concentration on either the writing or the direction, but not both, may have spawned a better film from first-timer Sofia C.

April 9, 2005 Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | Comment
Reeling Reviews

Mergulhando com sensibilidade na amargura do universo adolescente, com seus anseios e frustraçőes, Coppola estréia de forma memorável na direçăo.

January 26, 2005 Comment
Cinema em Cena

A disarmingly poetic - and specifically female - vision of adolescence that it belongs in a category of its own.

December 31, 2003 Full Review Source: Seattle Times | Comment
Seattle Times

Coppola's direction engagingly avoids the coming-of-age cliches and the film boasts an excellent performance from Kirsten Dunst.

October 1, 2003 Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | Comment
Guardian [UK]

Black comedy has never looked so good.

May 14, 2003 Comment
Palo Alto Weekly

If missteps hold the film back from achieving the full grandeur it aims for, there is no denying the way it conjures a magic-realist American suburbia, rarely before brought so convincingly to life.

December 2, 2002 Full Review Source: Sight and Sound | Comment
Sight and Sound

If [Coppola's] debut film is any indication, talent does run in the family -- even if it is a somewhat disjointed talent.

November 12, 2002 Full Review Source: Pitch.com | Comment
Pitch.com

In the end, the strengths of the movie are overwhelmed by what is pretentious, unplugged and boring to boot.

October 15, 2002 Full Review Source: Cincinnati Enquirer | Comments (2)
Cincinnati Enquirer
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for The Virgin Suicides

Josh Hartnetts hair is messed up in every movee ive seen him and then he doesnt wanna brush it so he shaves his head in black hawk down

September 12, 2008
LoughnerWasLucid

Super Reviewer

Beautiful direction, a haunting (and unexpectedly humorous) script, and solid performances make "The Vigin Suicides" an affecting drama about the dangers of being sheltered and suppressed, despite a slow moving middle section.

July 24, 2011
Sam Barnett

Super Reviewer

    1. Dr. Hornicker: What are you doing here honey? You're not even hold enough to know how bad life gets.
    2. Cecilia: Obviously, Doctor, you've never been a 13-year-old girl.
    – Submitted by Aneth F (9 months ago)

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Foreign Titles

  • Virgin Suicides (FR)
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