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Sofia
Coppola wrote the screenplay and directed this film, and it is
brilliant!
"The
Virgin Suicides" is a coming-of-age movie about five boys who
reflect on one particular school year 25 years ago and their
infatuation with the five blonde Lisbon sisters.
This
story revolves around the memories these five boys keep alive of
their brief relationship with Cecilia, Lux, Bonnie, Mary and
Therese Lisbon. It views the Lisbon sisters from a distance. We
are only within speaking and touching distance for brief, fleeting
seconds, as the filmmaker shows life within this dysfunctional
family and the toll their dysfunction takes.
Their
wooden, authoritarian mother (Kathleen Turner) raised them in a
strict Catholic household alongside a withdrawn,
mathematics-teaching father (James Woods), who is odd,
intellectual and quite eccentric. The daughters grow up in a
virtual prison, with firm rules, regulations and expectations.
This movie is about the results of their upbringing.
The
story opens with the activity that first attracted the attention
of the five boys and the entire community: the attempted
suicide of 13-year-old Cecilia Lisbon. She failed in her first
attempt, and this attempt prompted her court-appointed
psychologist (cameo appearance by Danny DeVito) to recommend that
the rules be somewhat relaxed and the girls be permitted to enjoy
the company of boys their own age — the introduction ends and
the story begins. Cecilia later is successful in her second
attempt, and then there were four.
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top of second column in this review]
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Narrated
by Giovanni Ribisi, this is a dark, haunting story that will touch upon
your feelings and your memories. It is about first love, rejection and
youthful adventure. While it is about denial and death, this film is not
morose or sad, but rather about the seduction of what once was and
lifelong longing for what might have been.
The
five boys spend the rest of their lives reflecting on that particular
year, the beautiful sisters and what might have been.
The
filming is perfect, the story unique and intriguing, and the acting is
convincing. The music perfectly captures the mood of the story. Actors
Turner and Woods portray the perfect wooden parents. DeVito is the
quintessential choice for the shrink who brought about this family’s
demise.
I liked
it, and I give this movie a rating of 4 stars out of 5 and recommend it
with strong warnings. This is a film about teenage suicide, teenage
sexuality and the harsh reality of growing up. Watch it together with
your teenagers and talk about it afterwards.
[midge]
midge@lincolndailynews.com
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Starring: Kathleen Turner