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The Virgin Suicides

The Virgin Suicides

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Haunting
Review: I'm not sure whether it's Kirsten Dunst's acting, the tragic story line, or the song "Playground Love," but I find this movie haunting me long after I've seen it. I've seen it 3-4 times, the most recent about a month ago, and I still can't stop thinking about it. Just be ready to settle in for a good theraputic cry.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A Quandry!!!
Review: Either this was a very good film or a very bad one. It skates on the razor's edge of believability and continually strains the credulity of the audience. For example, where, oh where, were the social workers? Even way back in the mid-Seventies there were concerned school officials and departments of Social Services to access when four girls, minors no less, ceased to return to their school. I won't go on and on but permit me one last citation of contradiction that simply does not wash. The character Lux, a young lady of rebellious and exploratory inclinations, could fly in the face of her parent's ordinance to return immediately after the dance. She stayed out all night, spending a good part of it engaged in sexual activities with the school Lothario, and loped on home the following morning. It makes so little sense that a girl who would flaunt the rules so easily, would also bend to her parent's iron will and remain their prisoner in the home.

Autrement dit, gimme a big huge break Sofia. I can forgive your excess of cinematic connections but I cannot pardon this film for its paucity of truth.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Virgin Suicides Review
Review: The Virgin Suicides Review

Overall I really am not sure if I liked the film or not because I really didn't understand it, but if I had to chose I would have to say yes. I would recommend others to see The Virgin Suicides but not to go into it with high expectations. I appriciated the film but it was not all it was cracked up to be, it was not nearly as scary as I originally thought; it was more disturbing. I do feel that this film was better than other films that deal with adolescent self-deconstruction because of the fact that there never really was a reason why. That is a question that plaques family members of teenagers who commit suicide.
The fact that there never really is a cut and dry reason why the Lisbon girls committed suicide really intrigued me and actually was the particular part that I liked the most. Ending the film without a reason why leaves the mind to wonder, leaving you confused but fascinated at the same time. Never really knowing, for some reason makes you want to watch the film again to see if there was something you missed or that was some secret hidden meaning. People can easily become as fascinated to know why as the neighborhood boys are in the film to know why.
I feel that the film's main message was to show adolescent sexuality and deconstruction intertwined. There was no clear-cut message it was all mixed up into one confusing plot. Sofia Coppola, the director and writer did a great job at capturing the 1970's view on teen sexuality. Girls were called sluts for dressing a certain way or having sex. Boys were praised for multiple sex partners and sexy clothes. She also showed how pretty girls were idolized by their male counterparts while the others just fell into the crowed like Cecilia, the youngest Lisbon sister and also the first to kill herself.
This film did a great job capturing the realties of that particular youth culture. Parents were overprotective, girls were kept sheltered and boys were kept on tight leashes. Ms. Coppola also showed the double standards of the 1970's that boys could have fantasies and act on them where girls could not do that while being respected at the same time.
Sofia Coppola also showed how suicide was labeled as accidental back then when they were indeed suicides to protect the name of the child. Suicide was a major part of this film but I feel it was used to show what life was like for teens during the seventies. Teens did enough self-deconstruction to themselves without going as far as suicide. Suicide was used as an outlet to depict teenage life at that time, not to deny that it was there but its purpose was not to show how all teenagers kill themselves when life got to rough.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Is this supposed to be a comedy or tragedy?
Review: I couldn't decide if 'The Virgin Suicides' was a comedy or a tragedy. Or was it both at the same time? Sort of odd, considering it was about depression and suicide. To me, the movie didn't take itself and the characters very seriously. We are introduced to the characters, but we never fully know them. The suicide of the first girl looks so bizzare that I couldn't decide if it was supposed to be sad or funny.
After the first girl dies, the story goes downhill with implausable characters and a thin storyline. Too many unrealistic things happen and then the movie is over. We are only left with the unknown.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: teen portrayal
Review: This movie could have been a waste of time: just by the title you know what's going to happen in the end. But director Sofia Coppola transformed a marginal plotline into a masterpiece worth watching time and time again. Undoubtedly, one of the most intriguing aspects of the film is the cinematography. The film transports you into the world of the Lisbon sisters, which is just as beautiful and mysterious as they are. The music is also expertly chosen, and not only fits, but exemplifies the mood.

Beyond the technical aspects, I am most intrigued by the portrayal of the teenagers: not only the girls, but the neighbor boys as well. In most movies, you expect to learn a great deal about the main character: his thoughts, feelings, motivations, likes, dislikes, etc. But the Virgin Suicides seems to purposely steer clear of this. As a result, I found myself identifying more with the neighbor boys: wanting to collect every bit of insight that I could into the lives of the Lisbon sisters.

My only real problem with the characterization of the girls was how submissive they were. For one, they never spoke back to their parents. Maybe times were different in the 70s, but I could not imagine putting up with what they did without, at least, trying to soften the punishment. They also never blamed each other for their problems. When Lux breaks curfew, all of the girls are punished for her mistake. Again, I doubt that any normal siblings would accept this without at least minimal ridicule. However, I can't help but feel that this lax attitude is ultimately the most important characteristic of the girls. It makes their mysterious air even more powerful and captivating.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Beautiful - yet sadistic - movie
Review: This may be the weirdest movie I've ever seen. It's realistic, but the tone of the movie feels like it's set in a dream. It's simply about 5 sisters who are happy on the outside but an event changes all of that, so they attempt the feared. I can't quite describe this movie, as it is deinitely one of the most original movies ever made, with it's own creepiness surrounding the whole project. It's eerily true and possible. All of the characters are well acted, especially Cecilia, the youngest of all the girls, (I think her name is Kate Hall?) She just really gets into her part and creates a depressing mood that will be carried on throughout the film. I know many people may find this boring and even stupid, but being me, a deep and depressing person, it can almost summarize life, in a hidden and low key way. Make an effort to see this movie, and while you're at it, buy the score, and the soundtrack ... they are very good, but maybe you shouldn't, for it could ruin the liking of the film for you, as you could get sick of the songs. Okay now I'm just getting carried away. Thanks ...

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Beautiful - yet sadistic - movie
Review: This may be the weirdest movie I've ever seen. It's realistic, but the tone of the movie feels like it's set in a dream. I can't quite describe this movie, as it is deinitely one of the most original movies ever made, with it's own creepiness surrounding the whole project. It's eerily true and possible. All of the characters are well acted, especially Cecilia, the youngest of all the girls, (I think her name is Kate Hall?) She just really gets into her part and creates a depressing mood that will be carried on throughout the film. I know many people may find this boring and even stupid, but being me, a deep and depressing person, it can almost summarize life, in a hidden and low key way. Make an effort to see this movie, and while you're at it, buy the score, and the soundtrack ... they are very good, but maybe you shouldn't, for it could ruin the liking of the film for you, as you could get sick of the songs. Okay now I'm just getting carried away. Thanks ...

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Haunting
Review: This is one of those movies that will have you watching it more than once.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: hauntingly beautiful
Review: The virgin suicides is a perfectly executed film based on jeffery eugenedes's novel. Centered upon four neighborhood boy's obssesion with the five lisbon girls, an unknown narrator (assumed to be one of the boys themselves) relates the fateful suicides of the girls. Starting with Cecilia, the youngest (only 13), and ending with a mass suicide of the remaining four girls almost a year later, the movie explores the unknown reasons as why these girls ended their lives. Controlled by a religous and all powerful mother (played by Kathleen Turner) who shuts the girls up after a mistake by Lux, the youngest after Cecilia's eventful suicide, is often seen as the reason for her daughter's death's. Whatever the reason, it is meant to be unknown. No matter how much evidence is gathered by the boys and how it is put together, none of them can figure it out. Had I been forced to choose one word to describe the movie, I would say it was perfect. Sofia Coppola has kept the raw beauty of the book while managing to magically translate it to film. While many of my favorite books have been slaughtered on the screen, this one keeps it's emotion. The story's humanity is over-powering.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Captivating
Review: Kudos to Coppola. This film is almost as hauntingly beautiful as Eugenides' book. Virgin Suicides is a must see as well as a must read.


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