Review of The Virgin Suicides (2000) by Matthew L — 27 Jul 2009

This is not your average teen film. The Virgin Suicides is a miraculous breath of fresh air in a genre that is often entirely superficial. It hits hard, and holds nothing back. The picture poses very hard questions that, in the end, cannot be answered.

"Why do people kill themselves?".

"Why wasn't I able to do something to stop this from happening?".

The film poses possibilities, but writer/director Sofia Coppola wisely presents the sisters' story through the eyes of outsiders, thus denying the audience any clear reason for their actions. We may only understand as much as the group of boys who worship them do.

Thus, the film attempts, and in my opinion succeeds, in showing the effect of suicide and depression on those who witness the suffering. We can never truly understand why those who suffer go through so much pain; we can merely try to piece the evidence together. How could the boys have known that every smile from the beautiful Lux (an astounding Kirsten Dunst) held a hint of resentment and pain behind it? How could the middle-aged psychologist have understood the discontment of being a young woman whose mind has already surpassed her angelic child's frame? The answer is that they couldn't have.

There is no way to understand suicide. Only those who commit the act know why they feel they must. However, if you pay close enough attention you may be able to save a life. The Virgin Suicides depicts vividly what happens when you can't, and all you are left with are endless questions with impossible answers.