The Virgin Suicides is kind of told through the eyes of a group of boys who become infatuated with the Lisbon sisters. There are five of these sisters, all raised by a conservative religious woman, played perfectly and against type (meaning without makeup!) by Kathleen Turner. The youngest sister attempts suicide but fails, an event that begins the downfall of the Lisbon family. We know right away from the narration provided by one of the boys, now grown, that all five of the sisters will be dead by the end of the movie. The why of the suicides is very simple: The girls are not allowed to live a life outside their home and school, and their overprotective mother and henpecked father (more good against-type acting by James Woods) smother them quite literally. The girls' lives are a tragedy of stunted growth, and so tragically must they all die.

The tragedy is a tragedy in name, though, not in emotion. Because the movie has no focus, it's impossible to attach yourself to any of the characters. Intellectually, they are all very interesting and dramatic, and the story their interaction causes is intriguing. But you don't learn much about anyone. You don't learn why Mrs. Lisbon is who she is. You don't learn why Mr. Lisbon is who he is. You have no clue who the daughters are, so their suicides have no more impact than if you were to find some Barbies with their heads in an Easy-Bake oven. You get that Lux, the "main" daughter, is a detached flirt (Kirsten Dunst does a nice job here), but there's nothing deeper to her. Trip, the high school stud who longs for Lux (a cool and dim Josh Hartnett in a bad wig) is maybe the deepest character if only because Sofia provides us, inexplicably, with some documentary-type footage of him as a loser later in life, talking to the camera about how much he loved Lux. Nice insight into Trip, but bad for the flow of the movie. The boys who are meant to be the focus for the movie's narration are simple nobodies, lacking distinct personalities. We don't even know which of the boys is narrating the voice-over.

The movie is meant to be mysterious. You aren't really meant to understand the girls at all or why they died because, hey, you're seeing it from the point of view of some boys who live in the neighborhood. However, if that's going to be how the movie is, Sofia should have left out some scenes that take place in the Lisbon household without the presence of a third party. These scenes Sofia has chosen to show us end up not helping us come to more solidified conclusions about the girls or their parents; they are as surface as the rest of the movie. It would have been much more interesting to tell this story solely through the eyes of the third parties, Trip included. Just give these boys some character, include more on-screen moments like Trip already has, and leave the inner workings of the Lisbon household closed to outsiders. That'd be neat! As it is now, Sofia can't decide how to tell the story, so no one ends up being very palpable. (This was a book first, so I don't know what elements Sofia chose to take from that to make her film.)

That's a lot of criticism, and so much wishy-washy character development usually harms a film enough to call out the rescue helicopters. However, there is a lot to enjoy about this movie. It has many bright and humorous moments. Sofia nails the complete ineptitude of the Lisbons as a social unit. The basement party is almost horrific to watch, since you just know how uncomfortable you'd be at such a party. Another scene with Trip at the Lisbon's watching TV gets your gut knotting with discomfort.

In other moments, without much help from the writing or directing, the actors themselves give you meaningful glimpses into the characters. A look from Kathleen or Kirsten goes a long way.

So there's fun to be had here, and the atmosphere of the film is successful. I would more recommend seeing this movie than not. My problem is I'm a little upset that the promise of what the movie could have been was not fulfilled. You're not just an outsider to the Lisbon sisters' world, you're an outsider to the outsiders who present the Lisbon world to us. Hey, this is Sofia's first mojor feature, and considering that, she's done an amazing job.

Just call me Señor Demanding.

The footage of the premiere should be at iCAST sometime very soon... Who knows when, though. They're a little disorganized there. [They're so disorganized, they're bankrupt. Humph! —3/14/01]

Speaking of iCAST, it looks like we have 'til June 12, 10:00am Eastern time, to get our movie up in the top three in the iCAST movie contest. I know, it looks like garbage on a 56K modem, but if you can click on it as much as possible this week, we need all the help we can get. Click here [Don't. Click here instead.], then click Comedy, then Food Code, then a play option.

—Steve

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