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The Virgin Suicides

The Virgin Suicides

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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: The Virgin Suicides
Review: Is this average customer review kidding? Why is this movie four-starred? I've just wasted my precious 90 minutes. There's only one reason for that - Ms. Coppora couldn't handle the novel but patchworked it as a freaky, redundant movie. Probably people in favor of this flick should rate the shocking ending. But that is what the author wrote - not the director's invention. And it makes the movie more miserable that a lot of good actors appear, trying to fill the void the director couldn't fill, or even find.
Don't waste your precious time and hard-earned money on this. You might as well watch God Father III after She's All That.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Amateurish and disappointing
Review: I'm utterly surprised that there are so many reviews praising this film for its depth and impact. I thought it was deeply flawed, and its problems were too great to be overcome by a flimsy plot or hit-and-miss acting. It's obviously a "first film" in the sense that Sophia Coppola makes typical beginner mistakes and seems a little too captivated with adding in interesting shots at the expense of pacing and story. It's not the worst film ever, but it left me feeling annoyed and disappointed. The story gets boring in parts, and is totally obscure and silly at others. Beautiful actors and artistic camera work cannot carry a film. I do not recommend buying the DVD. Rent it maybe, but don't buy it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: suicide revealed
Review: When Virgin Suicides was first released in the theaters I'll admit I didn't rush out to watch it. In fact I never got around to watching it in the theaters. When it was finally released out on video I rented it and loved it immediately! It was tragic, touching, sensitive, and somewhat realistic. The subject of suicide hit home for me. Three days before my sixteenth birthday I tried but was unsuccessful in trying to commit suicide. It's a subject I don't discuss with anyone. I felt the desperation in the Lisbon sisters. When you're young you feel that you're misunderstood and the whole world is against you. Especially when it comes your parents not listening to you or dismissing you. Depression is like quick sand once it grabs a hold of you, slowly but surely it'll destroy you. Suicide and depression is a serious subject that should be addressed as early as grade school. It was sad that neither Lisbon sisters survived the tragic demise.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: great
Review: its a little disturbing....actually very disturbing. but the directing is amazing, and the story is one that i believe all have to know. i dont usually watch many independent films, but out of the ones i have seen, this rates pretty high up there. if u want a comedy, or an action movie, get shrek or die hard or something. but if you want a GOOD movie, one that you can think about afterward and still be amazed by the story line, this is perfect. hope i helped.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Kirsten Dunst's best movie to date
Review: I rented this one from my video store and I got hooked to it - so I had to buy it for my DVD collection. Growing up in the seventies myself, this movie captures this time period like no other show I have seen before. It's not a cheerful movie by any means, but it's a movie that you definitely want to see more than once. Kirsten Dunst puts on a first class performance and she has never looked (or acted) any better than this. This is a sad but very beautiful movie, presented in a wonderful way - give it a try, you won't regret it.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: not what i expected
Review: the flim sarted off good and then kind of was a let down.i really wasnt clear why the girls killed themsevles. after a while the plot just seemed to drag.the good things about the movie were the perfomances i esipically like joshharnett as the small but important role of trip fontaine. overall i felt the movie could be a lot better.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: haunting...
Review: Amazing adaption of Eugenides novel by Sofia Coppola (she directs/writes better than she acts), evoking every emotion brought forth in the novel. The 70's soundtrack and score by AIR is excellent and the breakout dramatic performances by Hartnett and Dunst were a delightful change of pace by modern teen acting standards. Supporting cast, especially Turner and Woods, only add to the effect of the film. If you enjoyed "Heathers" for its take on teen suicide, try this for perhaps the opposite end of the spectrum. In short, don't expect to come away from this completely detached, if you've ever thought deeply in your life.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: What's the hubbub with them Lisbon girls?
Review: Despite all the great stuff in this film, I found it did not have anything concrete for me to latch my hooks into. I guess that's the point since the whole film is a hazy flashback of events surrounding girls who have long been idealized and deified, but it still doesn't make for a great story. I mean, Kirsten Dunst is a hottie and all but I still don't see why the hubbub 25 years later. But what makes the film work is the dead-on depiction of the type of sexual confusion all teenagers go through. It's a cruel trick by Mother Nature to put us through puberty before we even have an inkling of what it all means (if we ever truly know what it all means). I also loved the comparisons between the blossoming Lisbon sisters and the diseased elm trees, and the corresponding controls to prevent the further spread of flowering (or contagion) as enacted by the Lisbon parents and the tree cutters, respectively. Leave it up to humans and their hubris to decide what is best for nature. The film is also helped immensely by Coppola's use of music. Not only did Air's film score provide the perfect tone, but the 70's songs chosen also fit each scene perfectly. And the film should be further commended for showing in a number of scenes just how important pop music is in the life of a teenager, especially as a form of self-expression and a tool for communicating with others.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Tomorrow Midnight Wait For Our Signal
Review: Movie Summary: The five Lisbon sisters live and go to high school in a Michigan suburb in the 1970s. They are beautiful, intelligent and witty. They are strictly watched over by their repressive parents and adored almost to the point of worship by the neighborhood boys. To the outside world they seem like happy girls but one by one their happiness crumbles. The extreme action they take ends up scarring forever the four neighborhood boys who loved them.

My Opinion: The story is beautiful and sad, wonderful and tragic. The plot is well put together and played out. The direction would be top notch for any director not to mention a first time one. The acting is excellent as well and the characters very well cast. With all that out of the way, let me expand upon the story. As we know from the title, the sisters end their lives. Why did they do it? If the boys who knew them best and loved them could never figure it out, is there any hope for us? Maybe not, but there are clues and lessons for us. Before the youngest sister kills herself, she is at her party witnessing the boys having fun with the retarded boy Joe. This cruelty goes right to her sensitive heart and we end up losing her. The remaining four sisters try to keep on without her. They start to live and even find some joy in life. But this is cut short when they are witnesses to a little more of the coldness of the outside world and the extremeness of their own demented mother. We are shown very little more of the Lisbon sisters lives than the neighborhood boys who struggle all their lives but are never able to understand the motives behind the tragic deaths. Thus the viewer becomes one of the boys trying to solve the mystery with far too little to go on. This I feel is a major point of the movie. We can never know the feelings and motives of another person unless we work hard to get into their world. The boys tried in vain to befriend them and help them, but how much can a teenage boy do when we as adults fail as well? So maybe the question shouldn't be "Why did they do it?" but instead "How could we have saved them?"

DVD Quality: Video: Widescreen Anamorphic 1.85:1 Decent video quality. Sound: DD5.1 with some really good music. Extras are sparse and include the trailer, music video, making documentary, and a photo album.

What You Should Do: See this movie if you can handle the darkness of the deaths. It is a very deep and though provoking film. It will help you appreciate how fragile and precious life really is. It is not an upbeat film on the surface so it does not make a good Saturday night popcorn movie. But if you can skip the popcorn and look a little deeper, you will be rewarded for your efforts.

Related Movies To Check Out: Stand By Me, Outside Providence, High Fidelity, Say Anything, Girl Interrupted

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: dreamy and intoxicating
Review: The 'Virgin Suicides' is breathtaking, humourous, mesmerizing and a tragedy. I found myself becoming intoxicated with the story of the Lisbon girls. The film contains beautiful imagery and atmosphere such as a stunning dream sequence with Air's 'Ce Matin La'. The subject matter of the suicides is obviously moving and sad, and yet the film contains sly humour as narrated by Giovanni Ribisi. It is also sensual; watch the way Kirsten Dunst as Lux moves around the party in the basement, every move purposely flirtatious and inviting.

The cast is stunning. The actors playing the Lisbon family have an amazing connection on screen. Kirsten Dunst overwhelmed me witih some of her work. Particulary noteable is the scene with Lux & Trip in the auditorium. And, Lux's sadness as she chews absentmindely on her tiara during the cab ride home after the dance. And watch the way she says goodbye to Trip after he has been watching television, exactly as the book describes it of "a sad smile that promised only frustration." The following scene where they make out in the car also perfectly mirrors the passion and raw need of the scene in the book.

I must mention the scene in which the Lisbon girls and the boys play records to each other and reveal their feelings. This really affected me. There is a quick shot when the girls are playing "So Far Away" of Bonnie and Therese crying together. Their anguish is heartbreaking.

Finally, the ethereal music of Air provides the perfect, dreamy accompianment to this incredible film.


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