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Movies / On DVD / The Virgin Suicides
The Virgin Suicides

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The Virgin Suicides (1999)

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Reviews Counted:91

Fresh:70

Rotten:21

Average Rating:7/10

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

Runtime: 1 hr 37 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: Based on the 1993 novel by Jeffrey Eugenides, THE VIRGIN SUICIDES tells the dreamlike tale of the Lisbons, a family living in a sheltered 1970s suburbia. When Cecilia (Hannah Hall), the youngest of... Based on the 1993 novel by Jeffrey Eugenides, THE VIRGIN SUICIDES tells the dreamlike tale of the Lisbons, a family living in a sheltered 1970s suburbia. When Cecilia (Hannah Hall), the youngest of the five teenage Lisbon daughters, inexplicably commits suicide, the rest of the family--Mr. Lisbon (James Woods), an awkward high school math teacher; Mrs. Lisbon (Kathleen Turner), a stern, humorless housewife; and the four remaining sisters: Lux (Kirsten Dunst), Bonnie (Chelse Swain), Mary (A.J. Cook), and Therese (Leslie Hayman)--recedes into a morbid cloud of repression and denial. As the girls are forced to retreat from everyday life by their conservative mother, they become the subject of fascination for a group of neighborhood boys, who narrate the story and hope to rescue the girls from their listless confinement. The first feature by director-screenwriter Sofia Coppola (Francis Ford Coppola's daughter), THE VIRGIN SUICIDES is a mesmerizingly atmospheric film that perfectly captures both the moody tone of the book and the light-saturated feel of the 1970s. Dunst gives a standout performance as the promiscuous Lux, who becomes the sole obsession of high school ladies' man Trip Fontaine (Josh Hartnett). The movie also includes cameos by Danny DeVito and Scott Glenn. In addition to songs by Heart and Todd Rundgren, the film features an evocative score by the French duo Air. [More]

Starring: James Woods, Kathleen Turner, Kirsten Dunst, Josh Hartnett

Starring: James Woods, Kathleen Turner, Kirsten Dunst, Josh Hartnett, Hannah Hall, A.J. Cook, Chelse Swain, Danny DeVito, Scott Glenn, Jonathan Tucker, Leslie Hayman, Anthony DeSimone, Michelle Duquet, Michael Paré

Director: Sofia Coppola

Director: Sofia Coppola
Screenwriter: Sofia Coppola
Producer: Dan Halsted, Chris Hanley, Francis Ford Coppola, Julie Costanzo
Composer: Air

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Dec 12, 2000

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for The Virgin Suicides

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1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating)
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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.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
01/26/06
Time Out

Weird but compelling.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
01/01/00
E! Online

More than most recent movies about suburban adolescence, The Virgin Suicides catches both the triviality and the grandeur of youth, its prosaic details and its mythopoetic flights.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
A.O. Scott
A.O. Scott
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The film, with its large ensemble cast, is well acted, and director Coppola gets the best out of old pros.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Athan Bezaitis
Athan Bezaitis
Filmcritic.com

It will resonate with anyone who's ever gone through adolescence. It ranks with the very best films of the year.

Full Review Source: culturevulture.net | comment Comment
02/14/01
Bob Aulert
Bob Aulert
culturevulture.net

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
08/07/08
Bob Grimm
Bob Grimm
Sacramento News & Review

A heartbreaking glimpse at the secret life of adolescents... shockingly tender and remarkably acted.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Today | comment Comment
09/06/02
Brent Simon
Brent Simon
Entertainment Today

An uncompromisingly honest picture of teen life.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
01/01/00
Brian Webster
Brian Webster
Apollo Guide

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

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
Chris Gore
Chris Gore
Film Threat

Virgin Suicides succeeds as a contemplative metaphor; dream like and eerily detached.

Full Review Source: CinemaSense.Com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Cornell & Petricelli
Cornell & Petricelli
CinemaSense.Com

The Virgin Suicides maintains a deliberate, vague distance.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia City Paper | comment Comment
01/01/00
Cynthia Fuchs
Cynthia Fuchs
Philadelphia City Paper

Behind the lens, Coppola's direction is sure-footed, her pacing perfect.

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
David N. Butterworth
David N. Butterworth
rec.arts.movies.reviews

The film slices through its dizzying succession of events with clean, swift efficiency.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
01/01/00
Dennis Lim
Dennis Lim
Village Voice
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The film is an evocative visual depiction of a typical suburban family and community.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
02/14/01
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

A devastating, haunting motion picture of inconceivable power.

Full Review Source: DustinPutman.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Dustin Putman
Dustin Putman
DustinPutman.com

Coppola's adaptation of Jeffrey Eugenides's novel is both tender and devastating.

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
05/02/01
Ed Gonzalez
Ed Gonzalez
Slant Magazine

A lovely, luminous dream.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Elizabeth Weitzman
Elizabeth Weitzman
Film.com

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

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
07/18/07
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A most assured debut, this darkly humorous exploration of a tough subject benefits from original narrative and the fact that, unlike most American teen movies, the appealing cast consists of actors who are the same age as the characters they play.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
10/21/06
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The film is stylish and unarguably thought-provoking.

Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Eric D. Snider
Eric D. Snider
EricDSnider.com
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating)
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