The Virgin Suicides 7/10

[Puck Bond]

The Virgin Suicides(2000)
Directed by Sofia Coppola
Written by Sofia Coppola
Starring: James Woods, Kathleen Turner, Kirsten Dunst, Josh Hartnett, Danny Devito and Giovanni Ribisi(narrator).

I found this movie to be very good. It is a depressing movie and often a quite beautiful one. This is Sofia Coppola's directing and writing debut and quite an impressive one at that. It is about neighborhood boys who ponder and explore the mysteries of being a yound girl through, their relationships with 5 beautiful and suicidal sisters. James Woods and Kathleen Turner are both excellent as the strict and overbearing parents of the 5 girls. Josh Hartnett is decent as a cool popular dude from the highschool and Kirsten Dunst has never looked hotter as Lux Lisbon...The main reason I liked this film was the quiet and innocent feel it had to it, especially the interactions between the guys and the sisters...scenes like the party at their house and when they pick them all up for the prom, and a great scene involves the guys playing music over the phone...which brings me to another reason I liked it was the music. It complimented the scenes and the tone of the movie. But the main reason I liked it, was Giovanni Ribisi's narration. Even though his voice doesn't seem like it be a good fit it was. It has a strange nervous quality to it, and it I felt it fit perfectly with the very relatable nervousness and apprehension young men feel when dealing with the opposite sex.
My only complaint of the movie was why it didn't deal more with teen suicide, but I guess like the boys say you never know why.

A Film Review by Puck Bond

[Mike]

I agree, THE VIRGIN SUICIDES was an excellent movie. It was sad and beautiful...

Grade: 8/10

[Brock Landers]

"The Virgin Suicides" A Brock Landers Overview of A Sofia Coppola (Mrs. Spike Jonze) Film…(8/10)
Short Version:

"The Virgin Suicides" wasn't a box-office hit. This was due in part to an extremely limited release schedule, but also to a seemingly heavy subject matter. The title alone is enough to turn away some less open-minded viewers, but the old saying is as true here as it ever was…don't judge a book by its cover. "The Virgin Suicides" is also a sweet memoir of a specific time in American culture and a distinct period in the lives of young people. Ms. Coppola has made a real winner of a film and "The Virgin Suicides" is well worth the hunt if you can't find it at your local video megastore…

Long Version:

"The Virgin Suicides" is a beautiful and faithful adaptation of Jeffrey Eugenides' highly praised novel of the same name. The fact that Sofia Coppola was able to translate to the screen a novel that is not written in a straight narrative style speaks volumes of her directing talent. Both are lyrical works that favor a dreamlike mood over heavy, unnecessary dialogue. I think it is one of the more intriguing films of the year, and Coppola's direction stands out in my mind as one of the finest feature debuts in recent years…

At the heart of the story are the teenaged Lisbon sisters, in 1970's suburban America. There are five of them, and as the story begins, Cecilia (Hanna Hall), the youngest of the sisters, has attempted to take her life by opening up her wrists. On the advice of the family doctor, the Lisbon's invite the neighborhood boys over for an afternoon party with the girls. This is when we see the passing of the first of the Lisbon girls, and when the boys' fascination with the enigmatic sisters takes hold. Getting to know the sisters is a different story. Their sheltering, fundamentalist parents won't let them wear sleeveless shirts outside of the home, much less go on dates with teenage boys filled with raging hormones. One boy in particular, Trip Fontaine (Josh Hartnett) spells surefire trouble for the girls. Every teacher, high school girl and their collective mothers has the hots for him. But he's got his eye on one of the Lisbon sisters, Lux (Kirsten Dunst), and he'll do anything short of cutting his mop of hair to get her attention and win her dad's approval so that he can take her to the homecoming dance. At one point in the story, a grown-up Trip (presumably in a treatment center) takes on the duty of story narrator and discusses the effect of the girls on his life, as an adult. The bulk of the film is told through a collage of stories, gossip and recollections. It's a risky way to tell the story, but it pays off in the end. As effective as the material is, it's aided by a fine set of performances. James Woods is an actor whose brazen performances usually come across just as loud as his off-screen personality. Here, his strong turn as the pandering, overprotective father is so subdued and reserved that his voice rarely raises above the timber of a hushed conversation. Kathleen Turner is equally as effective in her turn as the devoutly religious mother of the Lisbon girls. You will see no shred of the sexuality of her character in "Body Heat", or the fiery temper of Barbara Rose in "War Of The Roses". Also look for small parts by Michael Pare, Danny Devito and Scott Glenn…

This is not a movie about death or suicide, it is as much about youthful obsession as it is the wistful way we recall it as adults. The story's undefined narrator (voiced by Giovanni Ribisi) is obviously someone who knew the girls, but didn't know them as well as he would have liked. Nobody really understood the girls that well, and it's the mystery surrounding them that drew the neighborhood boys toward them. The boys' desire and the girls' radiance are the driving forces of "The Virgin Suicides". It's an impressive film, and one that stuck with me after the last reel finished…

[pizowell]

Great movie! 9/10

[Mike]

the VIRGIN suicides:

I cannot begin to describe this movie, it's so "powerful..." "Haunting..." "Beautiful..." and yet so "Tragic..." It's all of those things and so much more. It's about the five Lisbon sisters, and the neighborhood boys who become obsessed with them and entagled in their lives. After the youngest girl kills herself things change forever. After awhile the girls' parents take them out of school and keep them cooped in the house. One of the girls, Lux, played exceptionally by Kirsten Dunst (Bring It On, Drop Dead Gorgeous, Dick), is forced to burn her rock albums (Including KISS and AEROSMITH), she pleads but her mother won't give in and let her keep them. While you watch the movie you know that eventually all of the girls will kill themselves, but you can't help but hope that they won't. I just can't explain this movie, it has to be seen to be understood. Once the girls are all gone, you can literally feel the loss, it's really strange, it felt so real. It's just so sad, but not sad like "boo hoo," it's a different kind of sad, a feeling of emptiness. Although the girls did have it rough, I just couldn't find myself really relating to how they felt. And you can't really until they're gone, you see their empty room, and the stuff on their dressers, it feels so cold. Once the credits started rolling I was glued to the couch, I didn't know what to think. I had so many feelings for it, I wasn't sure if it was good or bad. But hey, if a movie can make you feel the way this movie made me feel, it has to be one hell of a movie. And it is... This is definately one of the best films of 2000 and a movie that CAN'T be missed. Sure, their isn't much to it, but what is there is so powerful and moving, I just can't begin to explain... I will say though, if you can't appreciate good films, and can't handle something thats really artsy and beautiful, and need explosions every second, don't see this movie. But if you want something different, that will stay with you forever, this movie is for you. I highly recommend it... It also stars Josh Hartnett (The Faculty, Here On Earth), Kathleen Turner (Serial Mom), AJ Cook (TV's HIGHER GROUND), and James Woods (john carpenters VAMPIRES)... See this movie, you can't go wrong...

[Irene Manor]

Come sail away! Come sail away! Come sail away with me!

8/10