The virgin suicides (1999)

This film had some slightly disturbing subject matter, and a collection of protagonists with all sorts of flaws. I think it handled both of these things really well; it didn’t feel like a horror film, but had a well-developed uncomfortable vibe throughout. The length was a lovely ninety-seven minutes, and nothing felt like it was dragging.

The acting was generally good, although some was better than others. Trip Fontaine stood out as a pinnacle of fashion.

During our discussion afterwards, we didn’t totally agree on the message of the film, which i think is a good thing. Notably, how much blame can be put on the parents for the deaths of their children? Is this an abusive household, or just a case of some very protective parents? I’m not sure that there’s an absolute answer, but that’s one of the nice things about something like this.

Lux was the focus for most of the film, so she was the most fleshed out of the daughters, which meant that sometimes the other girls felt underdeveloped as characters. After their initial introduction, we rarely heard any of their names, so in the scenes where they were all together, i was never sure who was who. I’m not too mad about that though, because it was generally only a minor inconvenience that didn’t detract from the storytelling, and did mean that the film didn’t get too long.

The soundtrack was also very good. There was a mix of classic songs and new compositions, and the new compositions had a slightly ethereal and timeless feel about them. There’s probably more that can be said about the soundtrack, because it’s clear that a lot of thought went into it.

I recommend a watch of this one.