Virgin Suicides succeeds as a contemplative metaphor; dream like and eerily detached.
The Virgin Suicides (1999)
Tomatometer
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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
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Reviews for The Virgin Suicides
Too much of Coppola's direction ... is devoted to scoring easy points against the squares of suburbia and their hideous home decor to create a properly magical atmosphere.
Behind the lens, Coppola's direction is sure-footed, her pacing perfect.
The film slices through its dizzying succession of events with clean, swift efficiency.
The best thing about Ms. Coppola's adaptation of Jeffrey Eugenides' book is the atmosphere. It has a dreamy quality about it that both excites and mystifies.
A visually stunning, emotionally wrenching trip through the dark side of 70's suburbia.
Cool, odd and languorous as its main characters, The Virgin Suicides provides a fittingly postmodern debut for screenwriter/director Sofia Coppola.
In the final analysis, we are deliberately and cleverly left hanging, as unsure of the causes of the alienation of these children as we were when we entered the theater. That, in no small measure, is what makes this an exceptional film.
I can't quite give the movie a negative review, because I do concur with the critical consensus that Coppola has made an impressive directorial debut.
Tragic, haunting, and sometimes darkly comedic, this movie leaves a strong impression in its telling of a story about the destruction of innocence.
No detail is too minor to escape Coppola's attention: The thump of a needle hitting a record, the tickling of a clock and the drip from a leaking roof are just as important in setting the scene here as the Styx anthems, peasant skirts and shaggy haircuts.
This corrosive tragi-comedy is a surprisingly well-put-together little movie that achieves most of its goals.
Latest News for The Virgin Suicides
July 15, 2005:
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