The Virgin Suicides (1999)

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

US TV Schedule:

Tue. Nov. 17	11:00 AM	TMC
Wed. Nov. 18	1:45 AM	TMC

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:

Kim Basinger was originally offered the role of Sara Lisbon, but after the success of L.A. Confidential (1997) she became very expensive. Alyssa Milano was also considered for the role of Sara Lisbon, but dropped out from the project due to scheduling conflicts from "Charmed" (1998).

Goofs:

Continuity: When Trip comes in late for school after flirting for his tardy pass, he walks into the halls, leaving his coat behind. The next shot, he is carrying his coat.

Quotes:

Lux Lisbon: I can't breath in here.
Mrs Lisbon: Lu, you are safe, in here.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Veronica Mars: Donut Run (#2.11)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

Alone Again (Naturally)

Arty, but lacking

I was not impressed with this movie.

Artistically it was great. She took a nothing script, bland characters, and no plot and turned it into something watchable (with the help of some good actors). You can get caught up in the poetry of it all. But when the end credits roll I was left wanting for a plot that never was. Simplification version: the girls parents were insane and eventually the girls killed themselves to be free. Okay. But that was one sentence. 2 hours built around 1 sentence? And where was the believability? Do you know the paperwork to take your kids out of school? You can't just decide that they aren't going and then no one ever shows up again. A little thing called social services existed even in the 70s. The neighbors or other children never intervened? One kid was already dead and the whole community went - that's cruel, la la la? I tried finding some sort of moral, parable, or warning in the story but also found that lacking. Don't trust men - they'll get you into trouble when you open yourself to them? Kind of cliched and generalized. Losing innocence = death? Kind of makes insane moms point for her. Don't enjoy life, it'll kill ya! Don't be insane to your kids? As if that was a rational choice that we could learn to avoid by watching movies. (Prozac is so passe - just start running Clockwork Orange, Cuckoos Nest, etc and eventually people will learn to not be insane. Trendy but effectual.) Lacking morals, lacking plot, lacking a cohesive end, it becomes a pretty art film done for the sake of art alone. Go into it that way and one might enjoy it.