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The Virgin Suicides (1999)

Starring Kirsten Dunst, James Woods, Kathleen Turner, and Josh Hartnett.  Cinematography by Edward Lachman. Edited by Melissa Kent and James Lyons.  Produced by Francis Ford Coppola, Julie Costanzo, Dan Halsted, and Chris Hanley. Written and Directed by Sofia Coppola.

In an American suburb in the 1970’s live five beautiful blonde sisters (played by Kirsten Dunst, Hanna Hall, Chelse Swain, A.J. Cook, and Leslie Hayman) who are all destined to kill themselves. They are the Libson girls and unbeknownst to them they are the source of an infallible obsession to the boys who live across the street.  The tale is told through the perspective of one of these boys (played by Jonathan Tucker) though twenty five years of retrospect; lacing it with a nostalgic, memory-like perspective.

Cecilia, the youngest of the five sisters, was the first to go.  She threw herself off the second story of her house and was impaled by the garden railing. Her parents (played by James Woods and Kathleen Turner) reacted by restraining the remaining girls, allowing them very little freedom. But with their persistence they were eventually allowed to go to their school’s homecoming dance.

Things go horribly wrong that night and the parents react by tightening up even further. Soon they are not allowed to leave the house, even for school. The insanity of the parents, mixed with the emotions of the young girls, leads the family to their tragic but inevitable doom.

Sofia Coppola started her career in show business in 1972 when she played the part of the baby being christened in the climax of Francis Ford Coppola’s (her father’s) The Godfather.  She would remain on the cusp of the film industry throughout her adolescence and early adult life, working in various positions from actress to costume designer. In her early twenties she started writing a screen adaptation of one of her favorite contemporary novels, Jeffrey Eugenides' The Virgin Suicides.

She did not own the rights to the project, nor did she plan to finish the script.  She merely intended to use the time spent as a personal exercise in screenwriting.  But the story flowed from her and despite her initial ambition, she eventually found herself with a full length feature adaptation.  She soon discovered, however, that The Virgin Suicides was already being developed by another group of filmmakers. She forwarded her script to them and when their project fell through they suggested that Coppola pursue it herself.

Finding financial backing wasn’t a problem.  Coppola had shown the script to her father and he loved it. He even agreed to act as the film’s producer. As a seasoned filmmaker Coppola Sr. knew how strained the relationship between a film’s director and it’s producer can become, so he stepped back and allowed his daughter to make the film as she saw fit.

He made limited appearances on set and offered advice only when appropriate. The Virgin Suicides, initially claimed by its author to be impossible to adapt, depicts the awkwardness and intensity of adolescence in a way few films have been able to.  It also gracefully blends both comedy and tragedy while retaining an almost dreamlike quality. Sofia Coppola’s step from in front to behind the camera proved to be a wise decision and would abolish any claims of nepotism for future projects.

Budget: $6,000,000

Total US Gross: $4,859,475

Genre: Drama

Runtime: 97 Minutes

US Release Date: 4/21/00

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

Awards: none

Tagline: Beautiful, Mysterious, Haunting, Invariably Fatal. Just Like Life.

Quote: “So much has been said about the girls over the years, but we have never found an answer.  It didn't matter in the end how old they were, or that they were girls, but only that we had loved them and that they hadn't heard us calling.

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