The Film (5/5)

    I will be forthright in admitting that I have seen a majority of Sofia Coppola's feature films. I have even heard the Air original soundtrack to Virgin Suicides, yet until the Criterion Blu-ray for this film had ended up in my mailbox, I had never actually gotten around to watching Sofia Coppola’s debut feature film. It is not like I had intentionally skipped it. I just never  got around to it, and now that I've seen it, I am left wondering why I did not watch it much sooner than this.

   The Virgin Suicides is a story told in flashback by a narrator (Giovanni Ribisi) from the perspective of a group of young boys who after many decades are still trying to piece together the events that lead to the suicides of the 5 Lisbon sisters.  The film takes place in a Michigan suburb sometime in the mid to late 70's, the Lisbon sisters whose ages range from 13-17, have just experienced the attempted suicide of their younger sister Cecilia, and are dealing with the fallout from that experience. Their Father (James Woods) is a math teacher at their school, and their Mother (Kathleen Turner) is a strict religious parent. Both do not allow the girls much freedom in their outside lives.  Even with their parents trying to help Cecilia recover from the attempt, she eventually dies during a 2nd attempt, leaving the family traumatized, and the neighborhood talking.

    During the next school year, Lux Lisbon(Kirsten Dunst) attempts somewhat of a relationship with a boy that has been stalking her Trip Fontaine (Josh Hartnett).  However, she's not allowed to date, until he convinces her Father to let him and the football team take all the girls out to the homecoming dance. However, things don't end well for Lux. She and Trip becoming homecoming King and Queen, but after they make love on the football field, and pass out, she gets abandoned, and has to find her way home alone the next morning. This causes her Mother to get further strict with the sisters, and helps drive them to their end.

    The Virgin Suicides has a nostalgic dreamlike quality to it.  The cinematography by Ed Lachman is soft, yet warm at the best of times and channels such earlier films like Terence Malick's Badlands and Peter Weir's Picnic at Hanging Rock. Which are nicely contrasted by darker, more chilling moments throughout the piece. The performances across the board are brilliant, as the film is impeccably cast from major roles such as Kirsten Dunst in her breakout role as Lux Lisbon to James Woods as the Father of the family.  Viewers are even rewarded with minor strong performances from actors such as Michael Pare (Streets of Fire) as the older Trip Fontaine, now in rehab. 

    Of course, no review of Virgin Suicides would be complete without touching on the music of the film. The score by Air has a minimalist progressive quality that helps to channel the dreamlike atmosphere of the film, and works with the film, and stands well on its own. The film is populated with popular songs of the 70's from pop to rock, but used exquisitely.   Unlike some films that just use songs as a greatest hits of the era, these songs truly help set the tone of the piece. Also, there is one almost heartbreaking moment near the film's conclusion where the Lisbon sisters, and the young boys who will carry on their legacy communicate via the music they love as if words alone cannot express alone their emotions and intentions. 

Audio/Video (4.5/5)

    Criterion presents the Virgin Suicides in a lush and gorgeous 1:67:1 1080p AVC encoded transfers. The film looks truly stunning, with the various colors of the film reproduced beautifully, there is excellent detail throughout the presentation, and a nice organic grain structure present.  

    The Virgin Suicides has a DTS-HD MA 5.1 track in English that sound for the most part excellent.  Everything comes through crisp and clear.  I did note 2 pops on the soundtrack that were quite obvious, and I had to wonder if those were by intention. 

Extras (4/5)

    Criterion puts together a solid extras package for their release of the Virgin Suicides.  The Blu-ray has a look back at the film with Coppola, Lachman, and the cast and crew. We also get a vintage making of, Coppola's first short film, a music video by Air,  an interview with Virgin Suicides author Jeffrey Eugenides,  and an analysis of the film by Tavi Gevinson. There are also trailers and liner notes.

Overall

    Virgin Suicides is such a remarkable film, both dark and dreamy, in equal parts. The Blu-ray looks and sounds wonderful, and comes with a solid extras slate. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.