The Virgin Suicides (2000) Review

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(More customer reviews)'The Virgin Suicides' is a beautiful, understated, and tragic drama, punctuated by great rock music of the late '70s, and featuring terrific performances, particularly by Kirsten Dunst, Josh Hartlett, and a nearly unrecognizable Kathleen Turner. What makes the film even more remarkable is that it is the directorial debut by Francis Ford Coppola's daughter, Sofia, best known prior to this by her less-than-stellar performance in 'Godfather 3'! Her sensitivity with this material establishes her as a director to be reckoned with, and a true talent!
The film focuses on the five Lisbon sisters, beautiful, yet repressed by a religious and overly protective mother (Turner), who encourages their intellectual growth, but tries to block any sexual or emotional stirrings. The girls turn their passions into other channels, bonding tightly with one another, and viewing the world as outsiders. When the youngest attempts, then succeeds at killing herself, the family gains an unwanted notoriety, and a group of local boys begin to worship the remaining sisters from afar, gathering materials, and creating a fantasy world about them.
Lux, the most beautiful and free-spirited of the sisters (Dunst), attracts the attentions of the most popular boy in school, Tripp (Hartnett), who confuses raging hormones with love, and begins a campaign to 'have' her. Winning the respect of their father (James Woods, in another excellent 'against-type' portrayal), he succeeds in wearing the mother down, and arranges 'dates' for the sisters, so he can take Lux to the Homecoming Dance. The party provides the springboard for the tragedy that gives the film its name, and catapults the girls into icons that the boys who admire them can never forget.
There are many reasons to buy this film; Coppola's understanding of how boys and girls interact, and her sure touch with their issues about sexuality; Kirsten Dunst's best performance to date, conveying both sweetness, and barely suppressed erotic desire; Kathleen Turner's breakthrough as a character actress, sacrificing her glamorous persona for a stocky and frumpy matron. There are some excellent cameos, as well, particularly Danny DeVito as a clueless psychiatrist, Scott Glenn as a family priest who offers platitudes instead of comfort, and Michael Paré as an older Tripp, reminiscing about Lux, and their 'love'.
This is a very special film, one that you will not soon forget! I highly recommend it!

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In a quiet Michigan community in the mid-1970s, neighborhood boys try to piece together the lives of the five Lisbon sisters, kept isolated by their over-protective parents.Genre: Feature Film-DramaRating: RRelease Date: 9-AUG-2005Media Type: DVD

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Marie Antoinette (2006) Review

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(More customer reviews)While listening to The Cure's "Plainsong" a few hours ago, a track included in Sofia Coppola's latest feature film, which chronicles the iconic Queen of France, the motion picture really came together for me. "Marie Antoinette" is, undeniably, one of the most polarizing and bold films I have seen to come out of Hollywood in some time and perhaps Coppola's greatest achievement thus far; yes, better than Lost In Translation, folks.
Critics have unfairly attacked it as a celebration of decadent flair over substance, and while I had also shared these censures, I really feel people are misunderstanding the motion picture. Those looking for an accurate explanation of French history will be sorely letdown. I'll come out right now and say it, "There is no beheading!"
"Marie Antoinette" is a much more private and introspective experience. Coppola's focal point here is nothing more and nothing less than the manipulation of adolescence. Though Marie may have been excessive from time to time, there is more to her story than what has always been perceived. She was merely a teenager when she was uprooted and forced into foreign lands that held her, as well as Louis XVI to unattainable standards; their tragic exploitations serve as only more proof of how outdated and senseless the monarchy was. Sofia Coppola's prevailing test, undoubtedly, is to reverberate empathy for this young woman, and despite almost impairing it with a hefty illustration of the character's gluttony, Coppola, in due course, is winning.
Going back to my allusion of The Cure's "Plainsong", the film really works as something of an ill-fated fairy-tale. We know the doomed fate of our heroin, and thanks to Coppola it is a captivating journey, reminiscent of the song, with delicate instances of passion and affection, graciously supplied by Kirsten Dunst and a notable supporting cast, that makes us dread the inevitable conclusion. Wisely, Coppola restrains from placing in a spiteful guillotine scene, which would be absolutely unnecessary after the tender and personal feature it is throughout.
Now onto the feature's vastly-criticized directorial choices, I really think Sofia Coppola has produced the most contemporary period piece since Milos Forman's "Amadeus". From the daring incorporation of 80's New Wave as well as classical music to the energetic cinematography and editing, "Marie Antoinette" is a masterpiece in audaciousness.
The soundtrack is, easily, one of the best I have heard in a while. It actually aids in encapsulating the youthful spirit Coppola wants Marie to have. Those who pay close attention will appreciate the progression in the music and how it depicts the main character's emotions; it begins quite buoyantly and slowly becomes mellower. New Order, The Cure, Bow Wow Wow, The Radio Department, and The Strokes can all be heard during the film.
Even the costumes have a bubbly gaze to them. I know who is going to snag the "Best Set Direction" and "Best Costume Design" Oscars this year. Coppola really takes advantage of the unprecedented access the feature was given to the Palace of Versailles. She utilizes the awe-inspiring splendor of the location through opulent set pieces, colors, and atmospheric outdoor surroundings.
In honor of Marie Antoinette's eerily ironic last words: "Monsieur, I ask your pardon. I did not do it on purpose," Sofia Coppola's newest motion picture is for those yearning a lavish dream about a lost youth, who became something of a scapegoat for the tumultuous events that occurred around her.

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Academy Award® winner Sofia Coppola directs an electrifying yet intimate re-telling of the turbulent life of history's favorite villainess, Marie Antoinette. Kirsten Dunst portrays the ill-fated child princess who married France's young and indifferent King Louis XVI Jason Schwartzman. Feeling isolated in a royal court rife with scandal and intrigue, Marie Antoinette defied both royalty and commoner by living like a rock star, which served only to seal her fate.

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