Movies

I had been meaning to see The Virgin Suicides since I first heard it was being released to film, based on its 1993 book by Jeffrey Eugenides. I never got around to it until the other night when I rented it on video.Oh. My. God. This film was beautifully done with its easy-on-the-eyes cinematography, the shades of colours, the portrayal of seasons, the flawless actors (all of them), the way they moved & spoke.As in the book, this film is told as a memory of a group of boys' fascination & obsession with the lives of a group of very blonde sisters. It's not your typical formula film & includes a wondrous soundtrack, to say the least, with hypnotic contributions by Air. It still lingers in my mind - the true mark of a great film, in my eyes.The book, the film, the soundtrack: I recommend them all.

genuine film talent runs in the blood. sophia coppola's debut is so perfectly done that it'll be hard for her to top. her use of camera angles and shadowing and filters came together so well. i didn't get to see it big screen but you don't need to. it's so elegant and "large" a film.the acting is subtle and astute. the soundtrack lends to the film better than most films i've seen come out of new hollywood.the only continuity flaw i saw was the elm tree being in the front yard towards the end after it was so cerimoniously cut down. being the psychological focal point of the film, they should have been more vigilant chequing the dailies...virgin suicides and american beauty both show profound promise for new hollywood. see them both...

I found this film boring and ineffective- Sophia, I wanted to like it, but it left me with little to chew on. It seemed as though everything had been thrown together with little thought of making it cohesive. There was potential for depth but it was never reached. You can be subtle and still give some clues (see _The Graduate_). Supposedly it's true to the book, but maybe this was a time to take some liberties with the original story, and/or be creative with the script. Neither gender was well represented either. The music was good; buy the soundtrack but skip the film.