If you're ever in the mood for some light-hearted entertainment - most definitely do not watch "The Virgin Suicides." This is perhaps the darkest, most dismal and most depressing movie I've ever seen. It opens with the 13 year old youngest daughter of the Lisbon family attempting to commit suicide and it ends a couple of hours later with all five of the Lisbon daughters having committed suicide. In between, we get a glimpse of their life as a part of this Lisbon family - with an overbearing, over-protective super-religious mother (Kathleen Turner) and a somewhat more understanding but kind of wimpy father (James Woods) who won't stand up to his wife to try to give the girls some freedom. (This is certainly a critique of hyper-religiosity.) Finally fed up with their situation, the girls become increasingly rebellious, start to hang out with a group of boys as best they can when mom isn't watching, and it all leads up to that tragic ending. I have to admit - I didn't like this movie. I can take a dark and depressing movie but this one seemed to have very little point. We knew where it was going - it's clearly stated in the movie's description - but there was nothing in particular that seemed to be compelling about the journey. Thank goodness this wasn't a true story! That's about the best I can say for it.
Well ... there were some redeeming qualities I suppose. Turner and Woods actually did pretty well with their roles and - even though this is fiction - the movie did bring out a bit of an emotional reaction in me. Fictional or not, I started to feel sorry for these girls as the movie went on - perhaps because I knew exactly where this was heading - and I wanted someone to rescue them, even knowing that wish was in vain. So it's not as if this was a complete disaster. It was just a movie I didn't like, and I found watching it to be a truly bleak experience. (3/10)
Well ... there were some redeeming qualities I suppose. Turner and Woods actually did pretty well with their roles and - even though this is fiction - the movie did bring out a bit of an emotional reaction in me. Fictional or not, I started to feel sorry for these girls as the movie went on - perhaps because I knew exactly where this was heading - and I wanted someone to rescue them, even knowing that wish was in vain. So it's not as if this was a complete disaster. It was just a movie I didn't like, and I found watching it to be a truly bleak experience. (3/10)