Casting his mind back to the events that still haunt him and the four
friends who knew the sisters in the final months of their short lives, a
poignant elegy is unfolded piece by piece.
Framed by a woozy environment of blooming adolescence and its attendant
uncertainties, the descent from an outwardly idyllic existence is set in
motion by the youngest sibling's attempted suicide. Soon, the fragile
family facade stubbornly perpetuated by a domineering mother and
henpecked father is swiftly exposed.
Their beautiful, almost ethereal, daughters are unsurprisingly the focus
for many of the community's young males. This interest is only
heightened by subsequent developments, which fail to set the relevant
alarm bells ringing in the minds of the girls' parents.
Despite the air of inevitability, The Virgin Suicides is not an
especially depressing experience for the majority of its 90 minutes.
Evocative, and profoundly moving... it never opts for the hand-wringing
approach and avoids unnecessary overstating of the sisters' plight.
They are seen here only through the diaries found after their death, and
the eyes of the boys who knew them, albeit mostly from a tantalising
distance. It's as much their story as anyone's, the awkward courting
rituals of youth which both parties engage in willingly offering
glimpses of a freedom that, sadly, would ultimately prove elusive to the
doomed girls.
Coppola directs with all the skill and intelligence of an established
figure than the (officially at least) newcomer she apparently was at the
time of this film. The feel is muted, bathed in a summery haziness that
makes it almost the seasonal flipside of Ang Lee's expertly-realised
1997 gem
The Ice Storm.
Headlining a fabulous cast are James Woods and Kathleen Turner as the
parents of these vulnerable creatures - and both play against type with
memorable results. No grandstanding, not even one explosive exchange of
dialogue takes place in the movie and thus intimation and suggestion is
all. Woods' and Turners' subtly commanding performances leave no need for
detailed exposition of their characters and psychology, what's hinted at
and referred to in the excellent script is more than adequate.
So, too, with Kirsten Dunst... the most wilful and sexually voracious of
the cosetted quintet. Flirtatious and confident of her sexuality, she is
central to the unravelling tragedy. Already with an impressive CV under
her belt (including that remarkable turn in
Interview With The Vampire,
Dunst finds a depth to her character with delightful ease.
This is an ensemble piece, however, with more contributions than space
allows. Josh Hartnett - who stole the show in 1999's Highschool alien
flick The Faculty - comes up trumps again as the worldly young man who
shuns the universal adoration of the town's female populace due to a
passion for one of the sisters. It's a perfectly-judged portrayal, and
the ramifications of his involvement are revealed in a surprise
manoeuvre during the film - adding further pathos to a film drenched in
it.
It saves the sucker punch for the expected denouement, but like Sam
Mendes' revelatory final twist there is a genuine shock in the timing of
the actual suicides.
Accompanied by a soundtrack that mixes a gorgeous, specially-composed
score by those French smoothies Air with music from the era (including
10cc's seminal I'm Not In Love, Carole King's So Far Away and several
Todd Rungren tracks), The Virgin Suicides is a stunning example of
understated, yet unforgettable, cinema.
Now to the disc itself. As with far too many Fox/Pathe titles, it leaves
a lot to be desired. The 1.66:1 picture is fine, remembering that this
is a film with independant leanings. Even the Dolby 2.0 soundtrack
brings no major problems, the music coming through clearly and with the
requisite warmth.
It's with the extras that the disappointment begins. Aside from an
obligatory trailer, all you get is one language and subtitle option
(English in both cases) and just 15 chapters. Even for a 93-minute
film, that's still not enough.
The absence of behind-the-scenes material, or any form of insight from
the director or writers, means The Virgin Suicides retains an enigmatic
quality, but the feeling lingers that this DVD is a missed opportunity
to explore one of the most striking films of recent times.
As of April 2009, Blu-rays and DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TH-37PX80B
37" Plasma TV with a Sony BDP-1500 Blu-ray player and played through a Yamaha DSP-AX820 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Jan 2011: Intel Quad Core Dell XPS 8100, i7 CPU 860 @ 2.80Ghz, 8Gb RAM, nVidia GeForce GTS 240, Windows 7
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
