The Virgin Suicides (1999)

The first film by Sofia Coppola is a hypnotic piece of work that adapts the 1993 novel by Jeffrey Eugenides. It tells the story of the five Lisbon daughters, and the suicides that destroy their family. Consciously or otherwise it seems to echo Picnic at Hanging Rock – another mystery about disappearing girls – and in places it evokes the same hazy, dreamy atmosphere. Like that story, it’s as much about the after-effects of the key events as it is about what actually happens, as the girls enter the dreams and inner lives of those who knew them. 

Coppola also brings subtle, dry wit into the story, which is impressive given the macabre subject matter. One scene has the strict religious mother trying to burn the girls’ vinyl records (Kiss, Aerosmith, etc) only to nearly choke everyone with the toxic fumes they produce. 

There are clever, tricksy moments that shouldn’t work but somehow do anyway. At one point, an eye “twinkle” is added when Lux (Kirsten Dunst) smiles. At another point, we see “through” Lux’s dress to reveal that she’s written her new boyfriend’s name on her underwear. 

It also works as a teen story, and scenes such as the Homecoming ball – or the romantic moments when the boys and girls play each other records down the phone – would have been compelling as a youth drama in their own right, even without the disturbing undercurrents. 

James Woods and Kathleen Turner are excellent as the parents struggling to comprehend the nightmarish situation that grips their family, while Kirsten Dunst is especially strong as the most outgoing of the daughters.  

At the heart of the film is a mystery: the five girls are an enigma that the film wisely doesn’t even try to explain. And the eerie ambience is perfectly captured by Air’s original soundtrack. 

Trivia: it’s set in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, just like Grosse Pointe Blank.