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The Virgin Suicides (1999)
Directed by Sofia Coppola
Stars: Kathleen Turner, James Woods, Kirsten Dunst, Josh Hartnett
I've heard a lot about this film and finally got around to watching it tonight. I have to say that most of the praise I had heard was well deserved. This is a great debut film for Coppola.
Ths Lisbon family is your typical suburban household. There's Mom and Dad and their five daughters, aged 13 through 17. All the girls are beautiful, but beyond the reach of any of the boys at school. After the youngest daughter, Cecelia, commits suicide, and another event that I won't spoil, the girls are kept in virtual isolation by their religiously strict parents. This starts them all on a slow downward spiral of self-destruction.
This movie is a lot funnier than you would think from the synopsis, but there really is a lot of humor throughout. The cinematography is great, with excellent use of light and color, and the performances are all good, especially from Kathleen Turner and James Woods who are both brilliant as the well-meaning but clueless parents. But there's something missing here. Parts were funny, and parts were charming, but I never really cared about any of the girls the way I thought I should. I never came close to shedding a tear in what should have been a heart-wrenching story; and let me tell you, I cry easliy.
The Virgin Suicides is very well done, beautiful, funny, and gives you plenty to think about afterwards, but....I dunno...it seemed a tad shallow. Funny, these are almost the exact same comments I made about Lost In Translation. I guess I just don't get Sofia Coppola. I liked this one much better than LiT, though, and it gets my recommendation (for whatever that's worth).
The Virgin Suicides (1999)
Directed by Sofia Coppola
Stars: Kathleen Turner, James Woods, Kirsten Dunst, Josh Hartnett
I've heard a lot about this film and finally got around to watching it tonight. I have to say that most of the praise I had heard was well deserved. This is a great debut film for Coppola.
Ths Lisbon family is your typical suburban household. There's Mom and Dad and their five daughters, aged 13 through 17. All the girls are beautiful, but beyond the reach of any of the boys at school. After the youngest daughter, Cecelia, commits suicide, and another event that I won't spoil, the girls are kept in virtual isolation by their religiously strict parents. This starts them all on a slow downward spiral of self-destruction.
This movie is a lot funnier than you would think from the synopsis, but there really is a lot of humor throughout. The cinematography is great, with excellent use of light and color, and the performances are all good, especially from Kathleen Turner and James Woods who are both brilliant as the well-meaning but clueless parents. But there's something missing here. Parts were funny, and parts were charming, but I never really cared about any of the girls the way I thought I should. I never came close to shedding a tear in what should have been a heart-wrenching story; and let me tell you, I cry easliy.
The Virgin Suicides is very well done, beautiful, funny, and gives you plenty to think about afterwards, but....I dunno...it seemed a tad shallow. Funny, these are almost the exact same comments I made about Lost In Translation. I guess I just don't get Sofia Coppola. I liked this one much better than LiT, though, and it gets my recommendation (for whatever that's worth).