Rating of
2/4
"The Virgin Suicides" by Yojimbo
Yojimbo - wrote on 05/10/12
Approaching the subject of teen suicide from a completely different direction from Heathers, Sofia Coppolla's film is a far more understated and thoughtful affair. Technically there is little to fault; the young cast are uniformly good, dealing with the awkwardness and pain of interaction with the opposite sex as teenagers (Ha! As if that ever goes away...) It also makes some subtle points about the exploitation of tragedy by the media and the resultant finger pointing and ineffectual "awareness raising" by society that results. My main problem lies in it's lack of examination of the character of the girls, their thoughts and feelings born from these events and their reaction to their over-protective mother's virtual imprisonment of them. This gives the story a very sterile and unaffecting quality that failed to stir any emotion in me at all. It's certainly a solidly made film, but it seemed Coppolla was more interested in flexing her intellectual indie credentials than offering any genuine insight.
