The Virgin Suicides

Childhood friends reminisce upon five sisters, who were brought up in a strictly religious household. The fundamentals of Sofia Coppola’s debut film appear pedestrian enough, yet her gentle, dreamlike compositions infuse the coming-of-age narrative with ethereality and uncertainty. Perhaps the overwhelming emotion that I was struck with upon watching The Virgin Suicides was confusion – yet this is not meant as criticism. While you spend a lot of time with the characters, you never quite understand them; mirroring the rigid isolation enforced upon Lux and her sisters, the viewer is constantly distanced, forced to construct an approximation of character without ever fully comprehending such. While this ambiguity may leave some unsatisfied or indeed confused, Coppola constructs a visceral portrait of adolescent angst, aided by remarkable performances from Kirsten Dunst and Josh Hartnett. Against the bombast of Sinners and Interstellar, The Virgin Suicides is a quieter, quainter alternative on this term’s schedule that will undoubtedly appeal to fans of its genre.

Sam Ripley

This is the story of the five Lisbon sisters, aged between 13 and 17. They hold the boys of a Michigan suburb captive with their beauty. The mystery of the girls is only deepen when Cecilia, the youngest, shockingly commits suicide. To protect their remaining daughters the girl’s over zealous parents (Turner and Woods) forbid them to date or even to leave the house. The local boys eager to obtain even a glimpse of the girl’s beauty wait and watch. The girls smuggle a message requesting help to the boys who arrange a secret meeting. This is a melancholy movie of four lost girls who can't find their way into the light because of their over-protective parents. At times I wanted to yell at the parents and cry for the girls who never get experience life. The only reason it wasn’t instant classic is because of its theme of teenage suicide. It is the sad, morbid, yet touching tale of four teenage sisters who, because of their demanding parents, end their lives because they know they have nothing left. I highly recommend this very good drama, it has a slice of life in every scene. You won't forget this one, it will make you want to save the girls and hope that society is not always so dense in what they see, and that we will do something before tragedy occurs again.

Jonathan Corfe