The Virgin Suicides (2000)
Directed by Sofia Coppola
A group of male friends become obsessed with five mysterious sisters who are sheltered by their strict, religious parents.
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7 films that influenced The Virgin Suicides
What critics say influenced The Virgin Suicides
A very curious and eclectic piece of work--fresh even when it's awkward--that's built around an unsolved mystery, like Picnic at Hanging Rock.
The story it most reminds me of, indeed, is " Picnic at Hanging Rock " (1975), about a party of young girls, not unlike the Lisbon sisters in appearance and sexual experience, who go for a school outing one day and disappear into the wilderness, never to be seen again.
Reminiscent of 1987's Flowers in the Attic, the children are forced to fantasize through travel guides, imagining a different life in faraway lands.
But I kept thinking about Stephen King's Carrie as shot by Brian DePalma, a more lurid (but also more empathetic) tale with an over-the-top climax that really defined what it means to be 16, female, and miserable.
This story could have evolved into a black comedy like Heathers (1989), but it cares too much about the five girls.
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“The Virgin Suicides” clearly owes a lot to films like “The Ice Storm” (which it most closely resembles in setting, mood and attitude) and “American Beauty” ; there’s even some of “Ordinary People” thrown in there.
Thankfully, Sophia Coppola went on to follow in her father’s footsteps and took up directing bringing such great films as The Virgin Suicides and Lost in Translation to life.
Cool, odd and languorous as its main characters, The Virgin Suicides provides a fittingly postmodern debut for screenwriter/director Sofia Coppola, who's currently best remembered for her allegedly flawed performance as sacrificial daughter Mary Corleone in The Godfather: Part III.
Sofia has since proved herself to be a promising director with " The Virgin Suicides ", but her performance here is so wooden you want to yell "Timber!" every time she appears on screen.
Of the rest of the Lisbon sisters, Hanna Hall (who played the young Jenny in 1994's "Forrest Gump") makes the most lasting impression as Cecilia, the first to commit suicide.