The Virgin Suicides (1999)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Sofia Coppola

Writers:

Jeffrey Eugenides (novel)
Sofia Coppola (written by)

Release Date:

12 May 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery

Tagline:

Love Sex Passion Fear Obsession

Plot:

A group of male friends become obsessed with a group of mysterious sisters who are sheltered by their strict, religious parents after one of them commits suicide.

Plot Keywords:

Suicide | Virgin | Obsession | Sex | Suburb

Awards:

3 wins & 11 nominations

Cast

James Woods	...	Mr. Lisbon
Kathleen Turner	...	Mrs. Lisbon
Kirsten Dunst	...	Lux Lisbon
Josh Hartnett	...	Trip Fontaine
Michael Paré	...	Adult Trip Fontaine (as Michael Pare)
Scott Glenn	...	Father Moody
Danny DeVito	...	Dr. Horniker
A.J. Cook	...	Mary Lisbon
Hanna Hall	...	Cecilia Lisbon
Leslie Hayman	...	Therese Lisbon
Chelse Swain	...	Bonnie Lisbon
Anthony DeSimone	...	Chase Buell (as Anthony Desimone)
Lee Kagan	...	David Barker
Robert Schwartzman	...	Paul Baldino
Noah Shebib	...	Parkie Denton

Also Known As:

Sofia Coppola's the Virgin Suicides (USA) (complete title)
The Lisbon Sisters (USA) (working title)
As Virgens Suicidas (Brazil) (Portugal) [pt]
Las vírgenes suicidas (Argentina) (video title) (Spain) [es]
Cri ultime (Canada: French title) [fr]
Das Geheimnis ihres Todes (Germany) (TV title) [de]
Il giardino delle vergini suicide (Italy) [it]
Las virgenes suicidas (Mexico) [es]
Przeklenstwa niewinnosci (Poland) (TV title) [pl]
Samoubistvo devica (Serbia) [sr]
The Virgin Suicides (Denmark) [da]
The Virgin Suicides (Austria) [de]
The Virgin Suicides - Verlorene Jugend (Germany) [de]
Virgin Suicides (France) [fr]
Virgin suicides - kauniina kuolleet (Finland) [fi]

MPAA:

Rated R for strong thematic elements involving teens.

Runtime:

97 min | Germany:90 min (TV version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Portugal:M/16 | Malaysia:U | Iceland:L | Brazil:16 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Canada:14A | Chile:14 | Finland:K-14 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:11 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

American Zoetrope

Trivia:

After she had written the script, Sofia Coppola was heartbroken to discover that another company was already producing an adaptation of the book themselves. However, they were not happy with their script, so she showed them hers and they ended up using it instead.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the girls are locked up in their house, the front lawn is slowly covered with brown leaves to show the passing of several weeks. However, there is only one tree on the front lawn, and its leaves are green. The surrounding trees are also green and none of them show evidence of falling leaves.

Quotes:

Cecilia: [voiceover, reading from her diary] The trees, like lungs, filling with air. My sister - the mean one - pulling my hair.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Chainsaw Redux: Making a Massacre (2004) (V)

Soundtrack:

Hello It's Me

Tragic, Morbid and Disturbing Theme Explored with Extreme Sensibility

In 1974, in Michigan, the lives of a group of teenage boys are affected by the suicide of five girls from the Lisbon family. Cecilia (13) (Hanna Hall), Lux (14) (Kirsten Dunst), Bonnie (15) (Chelse Swain), Mary (16) (A.J. Cook) and Therese (17) (Leslie Hayman) move with their Mathematics teacher father Mr. Lisbon (James Wood) and their possessive housewife mother Mrs. Lisbon (Kathleen Turner) to a calm suburb house. Their beauties attract the attention of a group of boys that meet in the house on the other side to watch the girls. When Cecilia commits suicide, the girls stay at home for a period, returning to school later. When the handsome football player Trip Fontaine (Josh Hartnett) seduces Lux and spends the night outside with her, Mrs. Lisbon locks the girls at home, leading them to commit massive suicide.

The first time I saw this movie was on 15 October 2001, and I was impressed with the magnificent debut of Sofia Coppola as a director. Yesterday I saw "The Suicide Virgins" again and I keep my first impression. Sofia Coppola uses the opposite style of her sensationalist father, and explores with extreme sensibility this tragic, morbid and disturbing theme, the suicide of teenagers. The behavior of the American society is subtly criticized, through the condemned action of the press and the lack of attitude from the neighbors and school community, since these agents see and comment the abnormal behavior of the Lisbon family and take no attitude to help the girls. The nostalgic music score, with classics from the 70s, is another plus. With regard to the charismatic team of actors and actresses, their performances are simply stunning. Five years later, it calls the attention the modifications mainly in Josh Hartnett, who I believe was participating of his first important movie: he was a practically unknown teenager, and now is a famous adult actor. Kathleen Turner, from the sexy and gorgeous Matty Walker/Mary Ann Russell of "Body Heat" (1981) to this awful Mrs. Lisbon, is also impressive. "The Suicide Virgins" is a movie that deserves to be watched many times. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "As Virgens Suicidas" ("The Suicide Virgins")