The tone of wistful regret and longing doesn't preclude a good deal of gentle humour. It's a restrained, subtly suggestive piece which disintegrates if you try to get a fix on it.
The Virgin Suicides (1999)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
Reviews Counted:91
Fresh:70
Rotten:21
Average Rating:7/10
Consensus: Sofia's successful directorial debut lies in the movie's compelling story and the actors' genuine emotions.
Theatrical Release:19-05-2000
Synopsis: Based on the 1993 novel by Jeffrey Eugenides, THE VIRGIN SUICIDES tells the dreamlike tale of the Lisbons, a family living in a sheltered 1970s suburbia. When Cecilia (Hannah Hall), the youngest of... Based on the 1993 novel by Jeffrey Eugenides, THE VIRGIN SUICIDES tells the dreamlike tale of the Lisbons, a family living in a sheltered 1970s suburbia. When Cecilia (Hannah Hall), the youngest of the five teenage Lisbon daughters, inexplicably commits suicide, the rest of the family--Mr. Lisbon (James Woods), an awkward high school math teacher; Mrs. Lisbon (Kathleen Turner), a stern, humorless housewife; and the four remaining sisters: Lux (Kirsten Dunst), Bonnie (Chelse Swain), Mary (A.J. Cook), and Therese (Leslie Hayman)--recedes into a morbid cloud of repression and denial. As the girls are forced to retreat from everyday life by their conservative mother, they become the subject of fascination for a group of neighborhood boys, who narrate the story and hope to rescue the girls from their listless confinement. The first feature by director-screenwriter Sofia Coppola (Francis Ford Coppola's daughter), THE VIRGIN SUICIDES is a mesmerizingly atmospheric film that perfectly captures both the moody tone of the book and the light-saturated feel of the 1970s. Dunst gives a standout performance as the promiscuous Lux, who becomes the sole obsession of high school ladies' man Trip Fontaine (Josh Hartnett). The movie also includes cameos by Danny DeVito and Scott Glenn. In addition to songs by Heart and Todd Rundgren, the film features an evocative score by the French duo Air. [More]
Starring: James Woods, Kathleen Turner, Kirsten Dunst, Josh Hartnett
Starring: James Woods, Kathleen Turner, Kirsten Dunst, Josh Hartnett, Hannah Hall, A.J. Cook, Chelse Swain, Danny DeVito, Scott Glenn, Jonathan Tucker, Leslie Hayman, Anthony DeSimone, Michelle Duquet, Michael Paré
Director: Sofia Coppola
Director: Sofia Coppola
Screenwriter: Sofia Coppola
Producer: Dan Halsted, Chris Hanley, Francis Ford Coppola, Julie Costanzo
Composer: Air
Reviews for The Virgin Suicides
I can't quite give the movie a negative review, because I do concur with the critical consensus that Coppola has made an impressive directorial debut.
If missteps hold the film back from achieving the full grandeur it aims for, there is no denying the way it conjures a magic-realist American suburbia, rarely before brought so convincingly to life.
An always impressive tale of teenage insecurity, deprivation, angst, and lust.
Coppola's direction engagingly avoids the coming-of-age cliches and the film boasts an excellent performance from Kirsten Dunst.
An extremely sure-handed filmmaking debut from Coppola, daughter of Francis. Her script alone is a marvel of subtlety and intelligence.
Content in its bland enigmas, The Virgin Suicides is exquisitely boring.
Too much of Coppola's direction ... is devoted to scoring easy points against the squares of suburbia and their hideous home decor to create a properly magical atmosphere.
A rather stunted and sliggish exercise in style whose sporadically haunting visual quality doesn't make up for its shallowness and ponderous pace.
a disarmingly wispy film given its subject matter, which is pretty much spelled out by its title.
When a film's most sensible character commits suicide within the first 15 minutes it cannot be a good sign.
Spunky directing debut by Sofia Coppola unfortunately plays like after-school special.
The film just bored me stupid. Very few laughs, even less memorable scenes, and definitely not an 'entertainment' film, by any stretch of the imagination.
Though she wisely foregoes drawing simplistic conclusions from a story brimming with unanswerable questions, Coppola doesn't scratch very far below the surface of this enigmatic fairy tale.
Coppola has created a detective story without a solution and a coming-of-ager without discernable characters.
Latest News for The Virgin Suicides
July 15, 2005:
Trailer Bulletin: Pretty Persuasion
One of Sundance's more buzzed-about films was the dark high school comedy "Pretty Persuasion," and now you can check out the trailer over at Quicktime's Trailer Site.... More...
More DVDs
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| 68% 68% | Funny People |
| 95% 95% | Star Trek |
| 14% 14% | The Ugly Truth |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 83% 83% | Harry Potter and the H… |
| 67% 67% | Public Enemies |
| 75% 75% | Julie & Julia |
| 95% 95% | The Cove |
| 85% 85% | World's Greatest Dad |
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Sponsored Links
Around The Network
- The Virgin Suicides at Rotten Tomatoes
- The Virgin Suicides at IGN
Fresh Links
Featured

Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.

Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.



Top Critic

