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Movies / On DVD / The Virgin Suicides
The Virgin Suicides

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The Virgin Suicides (1999)

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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.

Rated: 15

Runtime: 1 hr 37 mins

Genre: Dramas

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

[See More Credits]

Reviews for The Virgin Suicides

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61 - 80 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

This corrosive tragi-comedy is a surprisingly well-put-together little movie that achieves most of its goals.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
01/01/00
Jeff Vice
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

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.

Full Review Source: JoBlo's Movie Emporium | comment Comment
01/01/00
JoBlo
JoBlo
JoBlo's Movie Emporium

Full of amazing performances.

Full Review Source: Planet Sick-Boy | comment Comment
01/01/00
Jon Popick
Jon Popick
Planet Sick-Boy

It's hard to remember a film that mixes disparate, delicate ingredients with the subtlety and virtuosity of Sofia Coppola's brilliant The Virgin Suicides.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
01/01/00
Jonathan Foreman
Jonathan Foreman
New York Post

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.

Full Review Source: Reel.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Kasia Anderson
Kasia Anderson
Reel.com

Contrary to the expectations of cynics who still blame Coppola for single-handedly ruining The Godfather: Part III, this film is quite an achievement.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Ken Fox
Ken Fox
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Coppola has created a detective story without a solution and a coming-of-ager without discernable characters.

Full Review Source: Mr. Showbiz | comment Comment
01/01/00
Kevin Maynard
Kevin Maynard
Mr. Showbiz

A highly affecting film unafraid to exact an emotional toll.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Kevin Thomas
Kevin Thomas
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Short on real insight.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
01/01/00
Louis B. Hobson
Louis B. Hobson
Jam! Movies

I am tired of seeing male adolescent sexual fantasies as deeply symbolic of life, the universe, and everything. But these are the themes The Virgin Suicides wants so desperately to present to us as fresh and new.

Full Review Source: Flick Filosopher | comment Comment
01/01/00
MaryAnn Johanson
MaryAnn Johanson
Flick Filosopher

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Matt's Movie Reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Matt Easterbrook
Matt Easterbrook
Matt's Movie Reviews

May haunt you for some time to come.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Matt Wolf
Matt Wolf
Associated Press

There are a lot of good individual elements on display, yet they never quite gel into something that completely satisfies.

Full Review Source: TheMovieReport.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Michael Dequina
Michael Dequina
TheMovieReport.com

The movie ultimately succeeds because of its convincing emotion. In contrast to big-screen bummers we see every week, this movie conveys genuine sorrow.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Mike Clark
Mike Clark
USA Today

Kirsten Dunst is marvelous as the most adventuresome of the girls, and Josh Hartnett is fine as the high school hunk.

Full Review Source: Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies | comment Comment
01/01/00
Nell Minow
Nell Minow
Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies

Worth seeing.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly

At the film's best, Coppola shows a deftness at editing, weaving together soft superimpositions of faces and readings of Cecilia's diary to give a feeling of innocent yearning.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
01/01/00
Peter Henne
Peter Henne
Film Journal International

The Virgin Suicides captures in stylized vignettes the intertwining strands of innocence, desire and despair in the psyches of teenage girls.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
01/01/00
Peter Stack
Peter Stack
San Francisco Chronicle

One of the most promising directorial debuts in recent memory, with the ability to cast a spell I have yet to shake three weeks after seeing the film.

Full Review Source: SPLICEDWire | comment Comment
01/01/00
Rob Blackwelder
Rob Blackwelder
SPLICEDWire

[Coppola] has the courage to play it in a minor key. She doesn't hammer home ideas and interpretations. She is content with the air of mystery and loss that hangs in the air like bitter poignancy.

Full Review Source: At the Movies | comment Comment
01/01/00
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
At the Movies
 
 
61 - 80 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
all

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...

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