The Virgin Suicides (1999)
77 %
Reviews Counted: 90 Fresh: 69 Rotten:21 Average Rating: 6.9/10
Consensus:
Sofia's successful directorial debut lies in the movie's compelling story and the actors' genuine emotions.
Runtime: 1 hr 37 mins
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 the five teenage Lisbon daughters, inexplicably commits suicide, the rest of the family--Mr.... [More]
Genre: Dramas
Starring: James Woods, Kathleen Turner, Kirsten Dunst, Josh Hartnett, Hannah Hall
Director: Sofia Coppola
Screenwriter: Sofia Coppola
Producer: Dan Halsted, Chris Hanley, Francis Ford Coppola, Julie Costanzo
Composer: Air
Screenwriter: Sofia Coppola
Producer: Dan Halsted, Chris Hanley, Francis Ford Coppola, Julie Costanzo
Composer: Air
Buy It On DVD
Reviews
Comment
It's yet another case of blame-the-parents, and, more precisely, blame-the-overprotective-mother.
07/24/07
Sofia Coppola tackles the issue of teenage suicide with an assured treatment in The Virgin Suicides, effectively employing a seriocomic tone.
07/18/07
Top Critic
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.
10/21/06
Top Critic
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.
01/26/06
A rather stunted and sliggish exercise in style whose sporadically haunting visual quality doesn't make up for its shallowness and ponderous pace.
12/06/05
Concentration on either the writing or the direction, but not both, may have spawned a better film from first-timer Sofia C.
04/09/05
Mergulhando com sensibilidade na amargura do universo adolescente, com seus anseios e frustrações, Coppola estréia de forma memorável na direção.
01/26/05
A disarmingly poetic - and specifically female - vision of adolescence that it belongs in a category of its own.
12/31/03
Coppola's direction engagingly avoids the coming-of-age cliches and the film boasts an excellent performance from Kirsten Dunst.
10/01/03
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.
12/02/02
If [Coppola's] debut film is any indication, talent does run in the family -- even if it is a somewhat disjointed talent.
11/12/02
In the end, the strengths of the movie are overwhelmed by what is pretentious, unplugged and boring to boot.
10/15/02
A heartbreaking glimpse at the secret life of adolescents... shockingly tender and remarkably acted.
09/06/02
When a film's most sensible character commits suicide within the first 15 minutes it cannot be a good sign.
06/18/02
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