The Virgin Suicides
Fans of The Godfather trilogy have long harbored ill will toward Sofia Coppola. The reason? When director Francis Ford Coppola was filming the long-awaited The Godfather Pt. III, he made the controversial decision to cast his daughter Sofia in the pivotal role of Michael Corleone's daughter (Winona Ryder was originally cast, but fell ill as shooting began and had to drop out). The move backfired, as Sofia's wooden acting in the movie is probably the most-cited reason why The Godfather Pt. III, while a great film in its own right, didn't reach the classic status of its two predecessors.
More than 10 years later, Sofia Coppola has returned to the film world, only this time as a director. If her directorial debut, The Virgin Suicides, is any indication, she may have the potential to make Godfather fans forgive her past transgressions.
The Virgin Suicides, based on a novel by Jeffrey Eugenides, follows the lives of four troubled sisters, the Lisbons, and a group of teenage boys who are infatuated with them. The sisters, ranging in age from 13 to 17, live a sheltered life courtesy of their overprotective (to put it mildly) mother, played by Kathleen Turner, and their slightly more liberal father (James Woods).
As the big school dance approaches, Lux Lisbon (Kirsten Dunst) - the oldest and most beautiful of the sisters - is courted by an athlete stud named Trip Fontaine (Josh Hartnett). When Lux asks her mother for permission to attend the dance, Mrs. Lisbon originally says no, but the well-meaning Mr. Lisbon convinces her to let the sisters go (with him as the chaperone). Unfortunately, the night turns disastrous, spiraling the lives of the sisters and those around them toward a tragic finale.
Coppola directs with a steady hand, creating a moody, evocative atmosphere that compensates for some of the screenplay's shortcomings. The romance between Lux and Trip is believable and effectively captures the feeling of two teens experiencing their last glimpse of adolescent innocence. The casting of Woods against type as the reserved father is a bold decision, and it pays off as Woods gives a rich, unusually subdued performance.
The movie does have its problems. It's so surreal and unrealistically extreme in spots that it lessens its impact as an exploration of teen angst. And the decision for the story to be told through the gawky teen boys is a questionable one, as it prevents the viewer from getting to intimately know the Lisbon sisters. Instead of making the girls more mysterious, this device detaches us. Plus, we don't see enough of the boys to develop a vested interest in their characters.
Overall, though, The Virgin Suicides is an interesting film that's worth checking out. Sofia Coppola hasn't atoned for her performance in The Godfather Pt. III quite yet, but at least she's on the right track.
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You'd do best to avoid drinking while watching any film with "suicide" in the title.
Romantic spark between the attractive leads can't compensate for morbid subject matter.
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