The Virgin Suicides
Grade: A+
Cast: Kirsten Dunst, AJ Cook, Hanna Hall, Leslie Hayman, Chelse Swain, Josh Hartnett, James Woods, Jonathan Tucker, Giovanni Ribisi, and Kathleen Turner
Director: Sophia Copola
Rated R for adult situations and sensuality


After repeated viewings of Sophia Copola's criminally underrated feature debut, "The Virgin Suicides," I still can't put my thoughts into words. Since it's release on video (the film was to controversially titled to play in my city), I've seen the film around six times (I own the DVD) and still I end up speechless whenever I try to write a review.

"The Virgin Suicides" marks an assured foray into the world of cinema for the daughter of "Godfather" director Francis Ford Copola (who gets a producer credit). At first it may not seem like much, but "Suicides" is a film of staggering power and beauty.

Beauty can be a blessing or a curse. For the Lisbon Girls, it's both. Cecilia (Hanna Hall), age 13. Lux (Kirsten Dunst), age 14. Bonnie (Chelse Swain), age 15. Mary (AJ Cook), age 16. Therese (Leslie Hayman), age 17. These are the Lisbon girls. They are blond, beautiful, and admired by everyone. Something, however, turns out to be very wrong when Cecilia attempts to kill herself by slitting her wrists in the bathtub. Her attempt is unsuccessful. When questioned as to why she wanted to kill herself by the doctor who says, "You're not even old enough to know how bad life gets," Cecilia rebuts, "Apparently doctor, you've never been a 13 year old girl."

Cecilia's therapist, Dr. Horniker (Danny DeVito), notices that something definitely is wrong with the household. The girl's parents (James Woods and Kathleen Turner) keep them under tight lock and key, and the doctor suggests that maybe they should have some contact with boys their own age. So the Lisbon's decide to have a party. Cecilia's next (very gruesome) attempt, is successful: she impales herself on a fencepole in their front yard during the party. And just a year later, the rest of the girls follow suit.

What makes the film so good is it's depiction of the girl's everyday life. The story is not told through their point of view, but from the point of view of the neighbor boys who are enamored with the Lisbon's beauty. It shows the girls through various states: laying seductively in the front lawn sunning themselves, being shocked and upset when their young sister dies, extreme elation when they are allowed to go to the homecoming dance, and then finally desperation.

The film doesn't focus on all of the Lisbon girls. The main focus is Lux who has a rebel spirit and a budding sexuality is trying to come out. The local hotshot, Trip Fontaine (Josh Hartnett) has a thing for her and it's more than just sexual. Both are hungry for actual love and attention. Trip has girls over almost every night and has sex whenever he feels the need, but he never actually makes that connection with anyone. Lux doesn't get much love from her parents. They love her yes, but they don't show it. Their relationship is all just a need for that special connection. Years after the events that transpire, Trip-- now a recovering alcoholic-- still feels that connection, and is upset that he had let it go like he did.

But I think everyone is looking for something in this film. The neighbor boys are looking for an answer, the girls are looking for a way out of their humdrum locked up existence, and the mother and father are looking for perfect children.

As I watch the film, I know what Sophia Copola is trying to do: she is dissecting the middle class American family. Never, though, has it been done with such thought and feeling, and with such surprising depth. Not even the mother of all middle class American family dissections, "American Beauty" moved me this much, or wrapped me up in the story and the myth of it all. This film holds a transcedent power over it's audience that at first may seem to just deal with the style and the visuals, but as the film progresses and we begin to see what's coming, "The Virgin Suicides" become more urgent, and more real, and more touching.

Maybe older, more staid viewers won't appreciate this film, but as a teenager myself, I can't help but relate to the restless feelings that the teens in this movie have. I don't have a life like theirs, with parents like theirs, but I think every teenager is looking for a way out of something, and that's why this film struck a nerve with me.

Copola's dismantling of this family and community does what "Blue Velvet" (a completely different type of motion picture, but with the same agenda) did years ago, and what "American Beauty" and "The Ice Storm" have done recently. To the boys in the neighborhood, The Lisbon Girls may seem happy, and the family may seem perfect, but to me, there was always some sadness in these girls.

Another reason why I may like this movie so much is because it's based on one of my favorite novels, by Jeffrey Eugenides (I read the book before I saw the film). When I read this book I was stultified and thunderstruck. Never had I read a book that was so perfect and so tender, and so accomplished. And now the film version possesses these qualities.

One thing that I don't like about the film is how Copola altered the conclusion of the Lux and Trip subplot. I liked it better in the book, but the movie version is still passable.

"The Virgin Suicides" is an impassioned, seductive, and haunting film. One that, upon first viewing may just be weird because of its lackadaisical quality, but one that is fully satisfying. If you're not looking for answers as to why the girls killed themselves, then watch this film. If you are, you should still watch it. Be sure, though, to keep an open mind.


-Brian Jones, 2002