The Virgin Suicides

Name: The Virgin Suicides
Genre: Drama, Mystery
Released: April 21, 2000
Duration: 97 min
Rating: 76
Cast: Josh Hartnett, Kirsten Dunst

2000

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Generally favorable reviews based on 31 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 130 Ratings

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7.4

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7.4	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 130 Ratings

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The Virgin Suicides

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Movie Details & Credits

Paramount Home Video | Release Date: April 21, 2000 | R

Starring: Josh Hartnett, Kirsten Dunst

Summary: After the suicide death of their youngest sister, the surviving daughters of the Lisbon family descend into a deep melancholy and eventually become isolated socially and physically by their parents (Woods, Turner) within their small-town Michigan house. Their only contact with the outside world is a group of neighborhood boys who becomeAfter the suicide death of their youngest sister, the surviving daughters of the Lisbon family descend into a deep melancholy and eventually become isolated socially and physically by their parents (Woods, Turner) within their small-town Michigan house. Their only contact with the outside world is a group of neighborhood boys who become obsessed with watching and attempting to communicate with the girls.… Expand

Director: Sofia Coppola

Genre(s): Drama, Mystery

Rating: R

Runtime: 97 min

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Critic Reviews

100

Wesley Morris

Ethereal. Read full review

Stephanie Zacharek

(Coppola) connects with the essential purity of Eugenides' story, stripping it down to its bare essentials and cutting straight to everything that's wonderful about it. Read full review

Rita Kempley

Bewitching. Read full review

Peter Stack

Coppola infuses her movie with a dreamy poetic tone, and deftly translates the essential metaphors of youth, sexuality and death without sacrificing an earthy humor. Read full review

David Sterritt

An artful blend of '70s detail and dreamlike moodiness makes Coppola's first movie an exceptionally promising directorial debut. Read full review

Emanuel Levy

Humor prevails throughout, but it doesn't deflate the disturbing elements of the tale, which miraculously manages to stay droll, heartfelt and poignant to the end. Read full review

Ernest Hardy

Sofia Coppola, who's directed the film from her own screenplay, narrowly misses making the story work on the screen. Read full review

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User Reviews

burntoemerge

Jul 4, 2011

.
the movie is supposed to make you feelï»¿ unsatisfied and empty.
viewers end up feeling exactly like the neighbourhood boys, and like the girls
its genius and haunting..
.

3 of 4 users found this helpful31

DiscoballMind

Aug 31, 2019

Great aesthetics, soundtrack and directing. A great adaptation of the peculiar style of the book

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

DawdlingPoet

Nov 22, 2021

This is very much a psychological coming of age style drama (i.e. a fairly character driven drama at that, or should that be characters driven, those obviously being the Lisbon sisters, all of whom seem to the local adolescent boys as almost some form of mythological enigmas).

The plot paceThis is very much a psychological coming of age style drama (i.e. a fairly character driven drama at that, or should that be characters driven, those obviously being the Lisbon sisters, all of whom seem to the local adolescent boys as almost some form of mythological enigmas).

The plot pace is really quite slow. I'd say that if your mainly looking for a drama with a fair amount of action in it, then don't look here, as it could come across as quite mundane. The majority of the film is dictated from the point of view of the Lisbon sisters fellow male pupils, who provide narration, giving an insight in to how they viewed the girls, how little the community knew and understood them. There are some dream like scenes, reconstructions of daydreams and the like, whereby their shown in very soft, fuzzy focus, with colours blending in to one another, giving it a surreal feel. It is somewhat cliched in parts, with such dreamlike scenes including one of the girls skipping through meadows wearing a summer dress what you could describe as a very innocent and perhaps virginal way(?).

The film is set primarily in the 1970s, although its all about looking back at what happened during the time there were a series of suicides in the family but these, obviously, occured in the 1970s (its pretty easy to tell that its set then given the fashion, music and everything, although im not sure that the start of the film specified which year its supposed to be set in).

Thematically speaking, it covers adolescent isolation, obsession, issues to do with strict parenting and 'growing pains' I guess you could say (in a non-sexual way, I should add(!)). The musical score includes tracks such as How Can You Mend A Broken Heart performed by Al Green, Strange Magic performed by ELO and I'm Not In Love performed by 10CC.

Cast wise, James Woods portrays the Lisbon sisters father, Ronald and Kathleen Turner plays the mother, who I don't think was referred to by a particular name. Josh Hartnett plays the main guy Trip Fontaine, the typical teen hunk who has the hots for one of the sisters (Lux). He comes across as very cool, calm and collected, quite charismatic and the like. The sisters are portrayed by Kirsten Dunst, who plays Lux, the blonde bombshell who keeps her distance much to the guys frustration, A.J. Cook plays Mary Lisbon, Leslie Hayman plays Therese Lisbon, Chelse Swain plays Bonnie Lisbon and Hanna Hall plays Cecilia Lisbon, who takes centre stage at the start of the film. Pretty much all of the sisters look similar, in being blonde, dreamy adolescents. They all come across as somewhat mysterious and keen on each others company, as would make sense given their domestic isolation.

I felt that it had quite a haunting type feel to it, with rather 'floaty' music used in some scenes (I'm not sure quite how else to describe it). Its certainly quite atmospheric and spookily engrossing as well, if you share the boys curiosity to try to get a glimpse of the private lives and thinking of these young girls, to spot what led up to the inevitable sad ending. I suppose it isn't exactly an original film in terms of the plot but the characterisations were done in a way that I found it quite an intriguing film, as I tried to imagine myself in the shoes of the various sisters and look out for the presumed signs of what may or may not have prompted the sisters' downfalls. It almost has the feel of a sort of a twisted fairy tale of sorts, if that makes any sense?. It certainly won't appeal to everyone but at just over an hour and a half long, its a pretty good film of its type.

I found the ending to be rather sudden and as such took me by surprise, even though I was somewhat aware of what it would be, not least due to the fact that I'd read the novel the film is based on (The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides), although that was some time ago as I was finishing secondary school, around the end of the 90s (this film was originally released in the year 2000, although in the US it was released in 1999, according to IMDB).

Part of what makes it so haunting is the fact that its set in such a mundane seeming, typical middle class town, not somewhere where you may expect there to obviously be young people with especially troubled minds. I suppose, if I had to compare it to another film, I'd say that as far as the psychological drama side of it is concerned, its a bit like 'We Need To Talk About Kevin'.

The film script was written by and the film was directed by Sofia Coppola, daughter of Francis Ford Coppola. I believe this was the first feature film she directed, or certainly it was one of her first. Its certainly quite stylish - it has the feel of a cult, indie hit . It doesn't seem like a multi million blockbuster, its more of an understated, subtle yet chilling family drama of sorts.

Yes I'd recommend it.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Spangle

Dec 21, 2014

A very interesting teenage/pseudo coming of age drama, The Virgin Suicides has its strengths and weaknesses. First off, the acting is great from all the kids and adults, though I do not know if I am buying Kirsten Dunst as a 14 year old here. Just saying. Great acting and fit the beautyA very interesting teenage/pseudo coming of age drama, The Virgin Suicides has its strengths and weaknesses. First off, the acting is great from all the kids and adults, though I do not know if I am buying Kirsten Dunst as a 14 year old here. Just saying. Great acting and fit the beauty required for the role, but having been 14, I can confirm no 14 year old looked like that when I was 14. Anyways, the film is gently directed by Sofia Coppola and she handles the sensitive subject matter very well. The story is very interesting and very well told. I like the handling of the narration, as well. Narration can sometimes feel unnatural, but it felt like that was the only way to tell this story and it never really messed with the flow of the film. In fact, it really helped the flow of it. Ultimately, the film has a very distant and melancholy feel to it, which really helps drive home the story and really makes it hit you. However, that same distance can prevent you from getting into the film. You feel as if you are arm's length away from the film and prevented from getting any closer. In the context of the film, this can be effective, but in terms of pure enjoyment, this film would benefit from a feeling of intimacy that would really pull the viewer in. Regardless, The Virgin Suicides is a good film that tells this depressing story and makes it feel almost dreamlike and beautiful in a really twisted way.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

Voodoo123

Jul 31, 2022

Textured coming of age morbid teen drama fails to fully make use of the talented cast and great soundtrack beyond anything average. Somehow the short runtime drags it's heels due to the poor pacing and the screenplay never really explores the deeper themes of psychological trauma that drivesTextured coming of age morbid teen drama fails to fully make use of the talented cast and great soundtrack beyond anything average. Somehow the short runtime drags it's heels due to the poor pacing and the screenplay never really explores the deeper themes of psychological trauma that drives the characters to the titular suicide pact. Definitely worth a watch if you're a fan of this genre.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

beingryanjude

Sep 3, 2014

Distinctly Sofia Coppolian, The Virgin Suicides is bleak and tragic. Occasionally funny--the film is one that will stick with its viewers. You'll understand why.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

andrewg

Dec 26, 2005

A movie with no story and no real characters is rather pointless, isn't it? It's more of a pet project for Miss Coppola than anything (the special features on the DVD are filled with infuriating self-praise and ego stroking).

0 of 0 users found this helpful

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42	#42 Best Movie of 2000
46	#46 Most Discussed Movie of 2000
31	#31 Most Shared Movie of 2000