Why did people think that the Virgin Suicides was so great? (includes spoilers) (1 Viewer)

[Chris Bardon]

I finally got around to renting this disc-I wanted to see what the buzz was all about, and to find out if Sofia Coppola was a better director than an actor (which really wouldn't be tough..). Anyhow, I really can't see why this movie was so well regarded. It was well performed, and some of the individual scenes were well done, but the movie just didn't have any flow to it.

I think that the main things that were wrong with it were the narrative and the characters. The movie started with the 4 guys basically narrating the movie as a flashback, but this technique is dropped halfway through the movie with the whole Trip & Lux sequence, and then resurrected after. Additionally, having the elder Trip relating some of the story just didn't work.

The other problem, the characters, is mainly in their lack of development. Of the five girls, the only ones who really had a character were Cecilia (the first suicide) and Lux (Kirsten Dunst)-the others were pretty generic, and really could have done with some more personality. Next, the guys who are supposed to be telling this story are just sort of there as well. There's almost no context for their obsession, and it made it tough to buy the girls' acceptance of them at the end. I think that some of the middle section of the movie would have been better used to tell more of their story.

Overall, the movie wasn't a complete waste, and I think that with a better script could have been incredible. Anyone else have any thoughts on the film?

 

[Alex Spindler]

Well, I thought it was well done in total. I think they chose to focus on two of the four girls to give the film more definition. Going to each of the four would have damaged the flow of the film. And the film really revolves around Lux and how she affected the narrator (Ribisi). His friends, as well as himself, aren't well developed because they were so much a spectator in Lux' and her sisters ordeal. I thought the love affair that the audience gets in with Lux served as all the development needed for the boys. We fell in love with them, so their motivation seemed clear.
I loved the movie for the embrace of its period, the unique nature of the story, the great performances by Woods and Turner, and for the tragic conclusion that it leads to. I thought it was shot with restraint and a sure-handedness that I would never have thought would come out of a debut (especially from cinematic poison like Sofia ). I really liked what Dunst does with Lux, and she fits the part all too well.
A good movie, and one off the beaten path for certain.

 

[MichaelAW]

Have you read the novel it was based on? I had, and was underwhelmed by it, and thus didn't bother to see the film when it was first released. However, I liked it when I rented it, and had no problem with the characterisations.

 

[Wes C]

I gave this movie 2 thumbs down! Probably because of my extremely high expectations.