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a film by sofia coppola official site - www.virginsuicides.com |
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| The Virgin Suicides marked the directorial debut of Sofia Coppola, daughter of the legendary Francis Ford Coppola, as she set about bringing to the big screen an adaptation of the novel by Jeffrey Eugenides. Set in the 1970s, this is the story of the five Lisbon sisters as seen through the eyes of a group of boys who worship them from across the street. As the name suggests, the story is a tragic one as the girls are driven to take their own lives. The boys attempt to explain why they think it happened, even though they admit that now, as grown men, they still don't understand it. From a remarkable book comes a truly outstanding film, that I personally consider to be the best I've ever seen. |
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| The Lisbon sisters are: Cecilia, 13 (Hanna R.Hall), Lux, 14 (Kirsten Dunst), Bonnie, 15 (Chelse Swain), Mary, 16 (A.J.Cook) and Therese, 17 (Leslie Hayman). Five beautiful girls who are raised by their parents under extremely strict rules. It soon becomes clear for Mr and Mrs Lisbon that something is very wrong in the Lisbon house when Cecilia attempts to take her life, which is where the film begins. They cannot understand Cecilia's actions - when the doctor questions her as how she's too young to experience the pain of life, she replies "Obviously doctor, you've never been a thirteen year-old girl." | |
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A hastily thrown party, in an attempt to get Cecilia to interact with the boys of the neighbourhood, is not enough to save her and at the party she throws herself from her bedroom window onto the iron railings below. The rest of the film shows the impact of Cecilia's death upon the family, and how it begins a domino effect of tragedy. Mrs Lisbon becomes reclusive and even more strict, whilst Mr Lisbon becomes distant and starts talking to plants at school where he teaches maths. The girls themselves band together and appear eerily unaffected by the death, as if somehow knowing that their sister is finally happy and their future lies upon the same lines. Cecilia herself continues to appear to the neighbour boys as a kind of beautiful phantom as they puzzle over her journal and attempt to figure out why she took her life. |
| Trouble rears its head in the form of high school heart-throb Trip Fontaine, who becomes obsessed with Lux and determined to take her to the prom. After an eventful visit to watch TV with the Lisbons Trip is able to strike a deal with Mr Lisbon - he can take Lux to the prom, and he'll provide dates for her other sisters, and they'll all go together. Unfortunately all doesn't go as planned. | |
| After being crowned prom King and Queen Lux and Trip sneak off to the football field to have sex. The boys take the other girls home, and Trip leaves Lux asleep on the football field - something that he cannot explain why he does, even as a grown man. Lux returns home in the early hours of the morning to face the wrath of Mrs Lisbon - and what a wrath it is. She withdraws the girls from school and confines them to the house. Mr Lisbon is fired from his job for his erratic behaviour, and soon no Lisbon family member leaves the house which begins to fall into a state of disrepair. The girls' only form of communication is the telephone, as they and the neighbour boys play songs to each other across the phone line to let them know how they're each feeling. |
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| The girls begin leaving cryptic messages for the boys too, on postcards and playing cards left in the middle of the night for them to find. It soon becomes clear to the boys that the girls are trapped and searching for a way to escape - and they need the help of the boys to do it. However, the boys don't expect the form of escape the girls have in mind. They arrive one night, at the girls signal, with dreams of taking the girls on a road trip to freedom. They're greeted by a disheartened Lux, who tells them to wait for her sisters while she waits in the car. After waiting for a while the boys venture further into the house to look for the girls, only to find a scene of horror: Bonnie hangs from the ceiling of the cellar, Mary lies with her head in the oven and Therese lies stuffed full of sleeping pills. Running in terror from the house the boys never discover Lux who sits slumped in the car, blood full of carbon dioxide from the running engine. All five of the Lisbon sisters have given their lives to suicide, and as the boys raise a lighter to them at the end they still wonder how it all happened . . . | |
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Ben The Slayer REVIEWS: This is truly a masterpiece of filmmaking, and is only one of two times that a film has left me speechless (the other being American Beauty). From start to finish the film draws you in with it's gripping story of loss and love; the performances from the cast are all excellent - James Woods and Kathleen Turner do a great job as Mr and Mrs Lisbon, whilst Kirsten shines as Lux, who receives the most screen time of the five sisters. The other girls are all excellent too though, in particular Hanna R.Hall stands out with her portrayal of Cecilia. A big part of the film is its style - the cinematography is beautifully crafted and works in harmony with the mesmerizing score from French duo Air to create the haunting, moving atmosphere of the film. At the end of the film you don't want the girls to die - but they do. This is a very depressing tale but it's also a sheer joy to watch because of the quality of the film. There are too few films that can reach out and grab hold of you, and make you feel a particular feeling; this film is one of them - it leaves you breathless, and truly moved. The girls appear like beautiful ghosts, and the sadness of the tale surrounds your heart and doesn't let go. A truly outstanding debut for Coppola, and a truly outstanding film by itself. |
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