Rating: 
Summary: Just a bit too predictable
Review: This was a pretty good first draft of a film. A really good director and editor might be able to take out some of the ridiculously self conscious, incongruous stuff (like a boy narrator near the end saying how he now had some understanding of what a prison it was to be a girl, but how wonderful it was at the same time because girls were inspired to think. Do boys outside of extreme feminist dreams ever say things like this?)and add a few scenes to tie it all together.Some of it was quite clever. It was just a bit too pat. Most of the characters had their cardboard cutout existence which couldn't be fleshed out lest it deter the tunnel vision plot.
Rating: 
Summary: Downer on the levels of "Joy Luck Club"
Review: My God, I haven't seen a film this painfully depressing and pompous since "American Beauty". Pardon me if I couldn't relate to the five . . ..er . . . "virgins" who offed themselves, especially the first one. "Obviously you've never been a 13 year old . . ." Oh SHUT UP!! Yeah, kill yourself because you're 13 and can't deal with it. Sounds extremely flimsy to me. It's not like these kids lives were such nightmares; there were no obvious parental disconnects, abuse, lack of friends, lack of money .. . . we never really get a legitimate reason for why the girls killed themselves and there's never any unsaid indicators for the suicides other than they couldn't take the weird, over-protective mother (who really isn't that psycho compared to some moms of that era). Just like "American Beauty", I found very few likeable or believable characters, therefore I couldn't really make an emotional connection with this movie. I just saw everyone as full of themselves without any real reason to be upset with anything.
Rating:
Summary: Not Very Impressive Overall
Review: I was not very impressed with Virgin Suicides. Just knowing that the five sisters would all be dead by the end of the film probably assisted in my lack of enthusiasm in following the narrative. The mini-documentary in the middle of the film was entirely out of place and really just made things more confusing. The use of music to converse was certainly interesting, but was one of the few bright points of the film. The acting is good overall (not necessarily brilliant), and the choice of background music generally appropriate. Still, this is not a film I would enthusiastically recommend unless someone was a true fan of the actors and actresses in the film.
Rating: 
Summary: Gen X MUST SEE
Review: This movie is very prophetic, showing a 70's family that discovers Gen X's changing view of suburbia. It exhibits an "American Beauty" style of showing that suburbia is not all it used to be, and that some are beginning to loose faith in it. Beautifully directed by Sophia Copalla (remember, that awful actress from "Godfather III"?), the mystery and depths of these over-protected girls is strikingly well captured, leading up to a not surprising (re: the title of the movie), but extremely well depicted ending. The performances are great, especially that by Kirsten Dunst, and a young Josh Hartnett. As the title says, this is a must see for generation X.
Rating:
Summary: Mesmerizing and beautiful
Review: The Virgin Suicides is the kind of story that makes you come to the realization of the just how beautiful life is. Everything is wonderfully crafted and puts you into the charater's mind. You begin to feel for these deprived and overprotected girls. You come to realize that with their restraints that it was inevidable for them to keep their sanity. This darkly exquisite movie is a timeless masterpiece set to entertain and purely touch your life with every emotion, esspecially for teens.I would recommend this film to anybody though the intensities of the plot may strike your heartstrings with a shock and your eyes with a couple of tears.
Rating:
Summary: Really makes you think...
Review: The Virgin Suicides is one of those movies that really makes you think after it's over. It's so haunting and beautiful. I have to admit, the only reason I watched this in the first place is because of Josh Hartnett, but after watching it, I'm extremely glad I did. The movie takes place in Michigan in the 1970's. The music in this movie is absolutely fabulous. Coming from a 14 year old girl who normally hates old music, this is big praise. I currently own the VHS, the book, and the soundtrack. I'm planning on buying the DVD soon. Watch this movie if you're a girl, if you've ever been a tennager, or if you've ever thought about suicide.
Rating: 
Summary: A Sensitive, Faithful Representation of the Book
Review: The best thing that Sofia Coppola did with "The Virgin Suicides" is letting the movie remain close to the Eugenides' novel, both in content and structure. In the DVD commentary, there are some bloated PR material, including her father Francis saying her screenplay was the best script he's read in ten years, etc., which is a laughable claim because almost all of the dialogue is a direct quote from the book, and the structure is unchanged. But it's to the younger Coppola's credit that she winnowed the book's pages with judicious sensitivity. The cinematography is steady and restrained. Some of the tracking shots are beautiful to look at, and Coppola has a wonderful way of framing her actors. The heartbreak of looking at the Lisbon girls as they go through their brief moments of happiness and misery of life comes subtly nuanced and never overly dramatic. One thing the movie does that took away from the mysterious power of the book is that the parents (played by Hepburne and Woods) are 'characterized and fleshed out'. Whereas Eugenides in his book leaves these characters as empty figures, Coppola paints them with broad, Suburban caricaturish strokes, as if to say this is what the girls wanted to escape with their suicides. Of course that must be one of the reasons, but Coppola loses the mythical quality of their mysterious end by intimating an explanation. But all in all, a solid debut: sensitive filmmaking. I will definitely check out Coppola's next project.
Rating:
Summary: An intensely beautiful, moving, poetic film
Review: There are some mixed reviews about "The Virgin Suicides"; all I can determine is that you either loved it or hated it, were drawn in by it or bored by it. Personally, I loved it. An amazing film.
The aspect of the film that I loved the most was all the questions it leaves behind. It does not attempt to tie all the loose ends up neatly; instead leaves you questioning the reasons behind the girls' actions, wondering why they did what they did. This film is true to life, as life in general is not full of happy endings, and all the threads are not tied up.
I would recommend that you buy the film, read the book, and be entranced by the subtle, poetic nature of both. This film is not ostentatious, does not hide behind big words or rely on fancy effects or high-tech graphics to get it's point across. It is truly beautiful in it's deceivingly simple nature.
Rating:
Summary: Must watch!
Review: The start was a bit slow, a sign that Sophia tries very hard to immitate her father's style. I didn't like it at first, but 30 minutes later, my opinion changed. I enjoy the whole movie and would not say much about the plot. If you think of buying, please do. If you never think of buying, at least you have to rent the disc. You won't regret!
Rating:
Summary: The ocean of no depth
Review: "Virgin Suicides" is awash with the affected tone of casual disinterest that is so in-vogue with the current artsy scene. The characters main personality traits are that they are pretty. The Lisbon sisters, with the sole exception of Lux, are indistinguishable from each other. The voyeuristic boys are they same. They share no trait other than their passive timidity. Their characters could very well be named Plot Device #1-5, a matched set for Lisbon Sisters #1-5. Where is the pathos? Where is the soul of this story? Aside from it's self-aware hipness, there is little to offer. The movie is filmed well. The girls are pretty. There is some romantic death, in the same vein as "Heathers." A decent 70's soundtrack is present. That is about it. Also, why is the story titled "Virgin Suicides?" The girls were not all virgins, and for the ones that were, their virginity played no role in their suicide. In fact, except for the title, I am not sure that the word "virgin" was ever in the movie. I expected a tie-in with the girls heavy Catholic upbringing, but, like the rest of the film, no connection was made.
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