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Virgin Suicides, The

Apollo Score: Apollo Score: 85. Click for an explanation of the scoring system.

Readers' Rating: 71

(30 votes)

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Virgin Suicides, The

A doctor expresses amazement that Cecilia Lisbon (Hannah Hall) has attempted to kill herself. “You aren’t even old enough to know how tough life is,” he tells her.

“I can tell you’ve never been a 13-year-old girl,” says Cecilia, establishing early on that The Virgin Suicides will paint an uncompromisingly honest picture of teen life. The film gets off to a strong start, combining the naive but unaffected perspective of a young teenager (as told by the adult Tim, voiced by Giovanni Ribisi) with disarming wry humour that makes you wonder – if you don’t already know the story from the novel – whether this good natured film can possibly be about suicide.

From the start, we fear for the fate of five beautiful young sisters, the Lisbons (Kirsten Dunst, Hannah R. Hall, Chelse Swain, A.J. Cook, Leslie Hayman). They live in suburban Michigan and seem completely normal, except for an overprotective mother. Mrs. Lisbon (Kathleen Turner) has never let the girls out at night, although the oldest is already 17 years old. Mr. Lisbon (James Wood) goes along with his wife, although he’s more interested in getting along with everyone than he is in cracking down on the girls’ behaviour. The disturbing thing is that they don’t just seem normal; they are normal. Except for their fate.

Cecilia’s suicide attempt surprises everyone, including their young neighbour Tim (Jonathan Tucker) and his friends, who are horrified, fascinated and in love with the sisters. As events unfold, the Lisbons – or at least the parents – respond to tragedy first by closing ranks, then by trying to open up and act normal, and ultimately by trying to shut out all threats. Naturally, this doesn’t work.

Packed with mid-‘70s music – real and faux – The Virgin Suicides offers a fabulous and troubling flashback for anyone who was a teen during that decade. Unlike many less substantial films, the nostalgia isn’t slathered on too thick. The clothing is distinctly ‘70s, just like the music – although the main score is original music by AIR.

You’ll be hard-pressed to find a more honest portrayal of teen life – in the 1970s or any era. All the passion, curiosity and outrageous dreams of youth are here. The four young admirers from across the street pine for the sisters, sure that they know the girls intimately, even though they’ve barely met. The school hunk, Trip Fontaine (Josh Hartnett), is everything you expect of a teen hunk – intensely interested in Lux Lisbon (Kirsten Dunst) until he actually wins her over. Then he wanders off in the night, leaving her to make her own way home to face the shame and condemnation of her mother.

The girls start off a mystery, and as Tim (narrator Giovanni Ribisi) looks back on their memory a quarter decade later, they are still a mystery and the source of troubling memories – the kind that are the bittersweet fruits of adolescence.

Sofia Coppola has crafted an excellent film – that’s unsettling, troubling, and yet funny – out of Jeffrey Eugenides’ novel.

Brian Webster
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