Kirsten Dunst in "The Virgin Suicides."

MOVIE INFORMATION

With 10 as a must-see, Jack gives this film an: Stars: Kathleen Turner and Kirsten Dunst Director: Sofia Coppola Rated: R, profanity, teen suicide Length: 97 minutes

ROCHESTERCRITIQUE

Having seen this film, how would you rate it? 10 5 9 4 8 3 7 2 6 1

By Jack Garner
Democrat and Chronicle

(May 12, 2000) -- Can there be any topic more challenging than teen suicide with which to launch a film career? But Sofia Coppola most admirably explores it as the writer-director of The Virgin Suicides.

Adapted from a much-admired novel, this is a disturbing, surprisingly humorous and insightful film detailing the tragic suicides of five teenage girls in one suburban family in the 1970s.

Coppola is the daughter of veteran director Francis Coppola (who produced the movie) and the wife of edgy young filmmaker Spike Jonze (Being John Malkovich). Admirably, the influence of neither man is evident in her debut film.

Instead, her model would seem to be David Lynch. The film's dreamlike flow, the juxtaposition of innocence and evil and the subtle, witty satire of suburban values all gently echo aspects of Blue Velvet, The Straight Story and other Lynch films.

The Virgin Suicides is told from the point of view of neighbor boys who've observed -- and occasionally lusted after -- the five Lisbon girls. We learn from the start that the girls all die; the story then examines the circumstances of their final weeks.

Kathleen Turner and James Woods contribute marvelous, against-type portrayals as the parents of the doomed girls. Mrs. Lisbon is a well-meaning, religious-minded and overly strict mother, while her husband is a sweetly ineffectual, all-at-sea father.

Mom's restrictions keep the daughters out of most normal social activity. On the surface, that would seem to be the prime reason for the tragedy. Yet many adolescents survive strict parents, so that's just an easy excuse. The real answers elude Coppola -- and us.

Young school hunk Trip Fontaine (Josh Hartnett) triggers disaster when he sets his sights on Lux Lisbon (Kirsten Dunst), the oldest of the five sisters. He invites Lux to the prom and enlists friends to escort the other Lisbons. Shock of shocks, Mrs. Lisbon reluctantly agrees to let the girls go, especially since her husband will be one of the teacher-chaperones.

But when Trip and Lux sneak out of the gym -- and miss curfew -- the heavenly night generates a hellish outcome.

At a time when the level of teen suicide is a national tragedy, it would be a mistake to view The Virgin Suicides as a definitive, insightful social document. In many ways, the suicides in this dark, seriocomic tale are designed as metaphors for a loss of innocence among modern adolescents.

For me, the deaths of five young women in The Virgin Suicides are not unlike the disappearance of a classroom of girls on an outing in Peter Weir's great film Picnic at Hanging Rock. Both incidents suddenly leave a sad void.

Ultimately, both defy explanation.