Review: The Virgin Suicides (1999)
[3.5/4.0]
The challenges of adolescence is a topic that has been frequently explored. It is a universal theme that practically all viewers can identify with. This film explores this topic with the allegorical story of a troubled family.
The film is set in a middle class Michigan neighborhood of the 1970's. A narrator (voice of Giovanni Ribisi) introduces the story beginning with the suicide attempt by the youngest of five daughters of the Lisbon family. The narrator is recounting the story from his past, since he was a member of a group of boys who knew and liked the girls. A foreboding tone of impending doom is set immediately, and the details slowly unfold. The girls are attractive, cheerful, and seemingly well-adjusted, so no one understands how they came to their terrible fate. Although their social activities were restricted by their parents, particularly their devoutly religious mother, their family never outwardly appeared exceptionally draconian or dysfunctional.
By setting the story in the 1970's and displaying the pop culture of the era, the film uses nostalgia to evoke a feeling of remembrance, but this is not the primary focus of the story. The film has a cogent, if oblique, plot that it develops. From the film's title, the narrator's introduction, and the symbolism of the opening scene where municipal workers mark the Lisbon's tree for removal (to control a Dutch Elm Disease epidemic), the eventual result is clear.
What differentiates this story from typical teenage angst stories is the fact that the source of the conflict is not part of the plot. The perspective is from the outside, as the narrator is merely an observer of the events. The narrator states that the events of their adolescence have lingered into their adulthood, and they habitually reflect this one troubling dimension of their remembered past. The point being made is that among the halcyon days of youth, there are problems that may not always be tangible. It is not with morbid perversity that the tragic events are examined, but rather as a symbol of part of the pain of growing up.
All aspects of the film are executed well. The story, based on a novel written by Jeffrey Eugenides, provides a strong foundation. Director Sofia Coppola skillfully focuses the scope of the film to its essential elements. The film uses nostalgia for a past decade without becoming a slave to this dimension. The acting is uniformly proficient. All the roles of the adolescents are believable, and the performances of James Woods and Kathleen Turner as the Lisbon parents required subtlety, as their involvement in their daughters' torment are unclear.
Highly recommended. This is a highly mood-oriented film whose story does not attempt to raise questions and answer them. It is a well crafted exploration of the remembrance of past tragedies and mysteries. Although it has some light-hearted moments, the film is essentially quite dark and brooding. It is a success because it keeps esoteric perspective, and manages to communicate an understandable, yet murky, story.
(c) 2000 Murali Krishnan The Art House Squatter http://ArtHouseSquatter.com
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