Synchronised
The drama film “The Virgin Suicides” was released in 1999 and was written and directed by Sofia Coppola. It was also her first feature film in which she made her directorial debut. Sofia Coppola took the 1993 book “The Virgin Suicides” written by Jeffrey Eugenides, and made it into a film. The film was set in the 1970s and, within a peaceful, tranquil Michigan suburb, sets forth into the lives of the five Lisbon sisters. The book is a strong narration from a tale spun by young neighbourhood boys maliciously obsessed with the sister set. The boys lacked emotional sophistication and thus formed poetic images of the sisters lives in their heads.
At first, the family leads a simple, quiet, and well-organised lifestyle in a suburb of Michigan. The family which the book is based on comprises of Mr. Lisbon the head of the family who is a high school math teacher. The second family member is Mrs Lisbon, a calm, traditional housewife, and five daughters by the name of Cecilia, Lux, Bonnie, Mary and Therese. The daughters are closely aged to each other, and each has a unique, elegant beauty which in turn, attracts attention from the neighbourhood boys. Day by day the boys grow more and more interested in the sisters and are in turn more interested in the sisters ‘ poetic lives’ as they put it.
The neighborhood goes into a frenzy when the youngest sister, Cecilia, suffers a tragic event, while the rest of the Lisbon family starts a retreat from the world. In spite of this, the boys’ interest for the sisters only grows. They try to find the sisters’ elusive world in the boys’ world in the glances, the conversations, the tokens, and the other trivial things.
Lux, the outgoing sister, is able to briefly associate herself with the local boy, Trip Fontaine. At the school’s end, the boys manage to somewhat lift the veil protecting the girls and reveal the human and vulnerable sides of the sisters. They, however, paired with the other sisters, lead to enormous parental supervision, thus the sisters become more privacy the more expansive parental supervision is.
The film itself is not a documentary style of mystery, and is not an exaggerated form of romance. It is a phonetic analysis of the intricate verses of the Lisbon sisters’ lives, combined with the emotional words of adolescence, deep longing, and foggy memory. Advanced age has transformed the boys into middle aged narrators, who, alongside their peers, gaze at this era full of lost opportunities with regret and a puzzled gaze. As they dig into their dark and untanghled history, they uncover only the light, shadowy fragments of the sisters’ lives intertwined with the boys’ adolescence.
Cast and Crew
Director and Scriptwriter
Sofia Coppola – With a startling first-time directorial feature, Coppola achieves a gentle, somewhat surreal quality on the film and sets the sublime tone which would characterize the rest of her work. Coppola’s screenplay retains and even revels in the poemistic prose of Eugenides’ book, adding her idiosyncratic artistry to the story’s imagery.
Main Cast
Kirsten Dunst as Lux Lisbon Dunst as she is often the most radiant and the most enigmatic of the sisters gives perhaps her most nuanced performance. In the story, Lux goes on to become the most pivotal character who possesses and portrays the essence of adolescence.
James Woods as Mr. Lisbon – Mr. Lisbon is Woods’ character who, despite his efforts is emotionally detached. Woods is able to beautifully capture this within the skillful restraint and sorrow his character portrays in the family setting.
Kathleen Turner as Mrs. Lisbon – Mrs. Lisbon is the strict, overprotective mother of the daughters and in this film Turner portrays who uses her motherly role in an attempt to hide the daughters from the dangers of the world, further pushing them into despair.
Josh Hartnett as Trip Fontaine – Lux is married to Trip Fontaine and Hartnett portrays him as an attractive and popular character and in his role performs the brazenly youthful, cocky part often depicted in teenage boys of the period.
The supporting roles are enriched with the additions of veteran actors such as Scott Glenn, Danny DeVito, and Michael Pare with each enhancing different aspects of the storyline.
Narration
Adult neighborhood boy Ribisi Giovanni merges different age timelines with ease while narrating the film, and this gives the dialogue a deep, almost poetic flow. His narration integrates the past with the current timeline.
Cinematography and Music
The nostalgic and ethereal moods of the film are accentuated by Edward Lachman, the film’s cinematographer, with his usage of diffused and golden light with intricate, soft movement and cinematically ‘thick’ layered images. Hazy lengthened sun beams and vaulted, glowy, filtered sunshine in the understated dream-summer are elements of wistful remembrance.
Air, the French electronic duo, sculpt the film’s score, elegantly intertwining the ambient textures of memory with the soft, dreamy sound beds. Apart from the film’s overarching meditative quality, the duo’s composition crystallizes the intricate emotions intricately woven in the characters imaginations.
IMDb Ratings
The Virgin Suicides has earned an average score of approximately 7.2/10 on IMDb from user reviews, resulting in rave reviews of over 16,000. Its distinctive tone, captivating artistry, and immersive storytelling has won the film accolades. Although it was only modestly appreciated when it came out, it is now quite popular with the indie film crowd and fans of coming-of-age cinema.
Both critics and viewers have praised Coppola for the tact with which she treated the subject and for her ability to transform the book’s inward-looking character and voice into images. The film does not have any outlandish plot twists or runs on action, rather it entwines the audience into a feeling of longing, reminiscence, and the ephemeral exquisiteness of adolescence.
Dunst’s performance has not escaped notice as she brought accolades for her ability to play complex characters. The supporting cast, particularly James Woods and Kathleen Turner, are praised for exercises in restraint and eloquent clarity as parents trying to cope in a situation which is beyond their understanding.
The enduring admiration for the visuals and the score, particulary the music prepared by Air, has been noted for its dream-like treatment of the story and the manner in which it integrates image and sound. It is often regarded as a textbook portrayal of how a film can score an atmosphere so complex as to be a character in its own right. The music, as well as the visuals, stay in the head of the audience long after the film has drawn to a close.
In the context of the soothing voiceovers and striking visuals, the film is profoundly emotional and its impact is still appreciated decades after its release. It is masterfully directed with poetic visuals, and biographers mark The Virgin Suicides as the most striking works in American independant cinema. The film is still one of the firsts for Sofia Coppola whose name today is most recognized for her voice in modern filmmaking.
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