Rent The Virgin Suicides (1999)

Melancholic and Mesmerising - The Virgin Suicides review by griggs

Sofia Coppola's The Virgin Suicides is a visually stunning film. The cinematography by Ed Lachman is mesmerising, giving the suburban setting a dreamy, nostalgic feel. The music by Air adds to the film’s haunting atmosphere, perfectly matching its melancholic tone.

While the direction and performances are strong, the film is missing something. The characters, especially the Lisbon sisters, remain distant and hard to connect with. The story feels more like it belongs to the boys observing the sisters rather than the girls themselves. This might be intentional, reflecting the boys' limited perspective. Still, it leaves the audience wanting more depth and understanding of the sisters' inner lives.

Overall, The Virgin Suicides is a beautiful debut with impressive visuals and music. Still, it lacks the emotional connection to fully engage the viewer in the narrative.

Voodoo Child - The Virgin Suicides review by Steve

Even though Sofia Coppola's debut is a faithful adaptation of Jeffrey Eugenides' novel, its translation to the screen ostentatiously borrows from Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975). It's a period melodrama about the group behaviour of female adolescents which is unresolved and mainly memorable for its hazy-dreamy atmosphere.

The atmos is constructed in familiar ways: with the turned up room tone and ambient noise; the yellow sunny day brightness, with the lens flare; the fashions and nostalgic chart music... But this is different because its aura is also created by the five teenage sisters who are similarly blonde, pretty, hippyish- and lack individuality.

So the younger female actors don't much stand out. Kirsten Dunst gets most screen-time as the 14 year old who is the only sister with a motive for suicide. Clearly we are expected to find a cause for their mysterious deaths-  whether the mystic occultism of puberty... or the stranglehold of bourgeois christian conservatism, etc...?

But ultimately... there isn't a reason... and if there was, how much certainty could there be? The story is told by a collective of unreliable narrators recalling their long ago past. This must remain an enigma, much like at Hanging Rock. Yet there is still some satisfaction in this, and in the soft focus wistfulness of our reminiscences...