Amidst all of the other books-turned-movies, The Virgin Suicides (written by Jeffrey Eugenides, directed by Sofia Coppola) stands out as both a racy drama and an angsty story of teen suicide. This flick isn't necessarily full of fashion inspiration, but it gives off the most delicious vibes, from Kirsten Dunst's fiery screentime to the sugar-coated convo from the foursome. Let's see...
In its most bare-born form, it's a story of 5 young sisters living in the 70's American suburbs who, under the stress and pressure of their uptight, religious parents, "off" themselves. There's so much more to the story, though, as the too-young girls dive into mature issues stuck under the stress of being teenage girls.
Now, the family is left to struggle with the loss and the Mr. and Mrs. can only wonder what they did to cause this. Eventually, the sisters return to school, carrying on with their daily routines. A group of young boys take interest in the Lisbon girls, their beauty and demeanor not possibly that inherited from their simpleton parents. Their dances with death only highten the boys' interest as they try to figure out the reasoning behind their premature passings. As the story carries on, they only become more and more attached to the girls.
With teenage life comes the young love, one of the many vibes from the movie where the sad truth is sugar-coated with an average teenage love story. Lux Lisbon's promiscuity steals the show, and her romance with teen drream Trip Fontaine is the first real relationship for either of them, though short lived.
Despite their crumbling lives, the four girls remain a united stand. After much convincing, Trip and a select group of lucky boys take the Lisbon girls to homecoming in their "identical sacks," which is the final taste of freedom for the girls.
After winning homecoming queen and king, Lux and Trip spend a supposed magical night together on the soccer field, until she wakes up alone and must return home in the early morning hours. That doesn't sit well with Mom and Pop...
The girls are now on lockdown in their miserable little house and miserable little lives; it's the talk of the town. Lux is as promiscuous as ever after giving up on Trip, and her nightly excursions to the rooftop to meet men of all sorts becomes perhaps the biggest interest of the young boys. The Lisbon sisters are the walking dead, but stay sane by dropping hints to the group, wanting some sort of communication with the outside world. They begin nightly phone calls where only the sound of dreamy music echos through the phone, drawing the boys in more and more.
The boys travel with them, and the bubbly music between the two groups turns to desperate hope when the Lisbons ask the boys to help them escape their melancholy home.
The boys get to the home with high hopes and vivid fantasies about running away together. Little did they know, these would be the final breaths of the Lisbon girls.
The four sisters take their lives, Lux being the last to go. Now the town, and the boys especially, are left to cope with the loss. Even years later, they cannot figure out what happened, despite their fair collection of family tokens. So why would the young girls take their lives? Why, in the simplicity of their daily routines, would they find reasons to become miserable? Not only is the movie beautifully striking, but the audience is drawn into the lives of the dreary Lisbons.
The rooms are perhaps our favorite part of the movie, from the 70's feel to the randomly placed visually striking pieces of the girls' teen lives.
The Virgin Suicides is a haze of sublime picture and dreamy girls, which only covers up the obscene topics of love, sex, passion, fear and obsession.
One of my favorites!
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