Film Review: The Virgin Suicides
Film Review: The Virgin Suicides
The Virgin Suicides is one of those films that even once it has ended it leaves the viewer asking himself/herself many questions. The focus characters, the five Lisbon girls, are introduced early in the film (Celia, Lux, Bonnie, Mary, and Therese). The Lisbon girls’ ages range from thirteen to seventeen. The narrator of the film is an anonymous man who knew the Lisbon girls in his teenage years, and just like other teenage boys of the neighborhood, he was obsessed with them. The narrator tells the viewer the Lisbon girls’ story from his point of view that is why there are many questions left unanswered.
The story truly begins with the tragic suicide of the youngest Lisbon girl, Celia. Celia’s suicide had not been her first suicide attempt; Celia had tried once before by cutting her wrists. It did not take long for the neighborhood/community to find out what had happened to the Lisbon family. However, the Lisbon family attempted to continue their lives as if nothing had happened. The remaining Lisbon girls attended school and acted unaffected.
At first the viewer can’t understand what might have led Celia to end her life but throughout the film one starts to understand. The Lisbon girls did not live the life of normal teenage girls, and their mother made sure of that. Mrs. Lisbon overprotected her daughters way too much, they were not allowed to ride in cars, go on dates, or even join extracurricular activities.
Trip Fontaine who “loved” one of the Lisbon girls (Lux) gains the courage to ask her father permission to take her to Homecoming dance. After a deal made with the mother all the Lisbon girls are allowed to attend the Homecoming dance. The girls had “the time of their life” regardless of the grandma-ish dresses their mother made them wear. But, when curfew came around Lux did not make it home from the dance with her sisters. Lux had drank alcohol with Trip, who convinced her to go out to the football field where they end up having sex. Lux wakes up the next day and to her dismay she’s all alone. Once Lux gets home she is not punished for missing curfew, rather she is “imprisoned” along with her sisters. The girls are not even allowed to attend school, which my be what pushed them to the film's ending.
In the film Lux’s character illustrates various issues many teenage girls go through, and can relate to. Lux is like the typical girl, she is boy-crazy. Lux doodles all over her notebook about the boys she “loves” but she can’t openly be with. Due to her mother’s over-protection Lux uses her sexuality as an outlet. Lux’s mother controls so much of her life that she rebels by becoming sexually active, smoking, and drinking. I think that Lux's reaction is normal, many times when girls have vices it is their way of calling out for help,rebelling, or attempting to fulfill some sort of void. I believe Lux has sex to rebel because that is the one thing her mother cannot control. After having sex Lux looks for the guy’s approval, she asks one of the guys she sleeps with if he thinks, “she’s dirty”. The Purity Myth worries Lux, like it does many teenage girls. Many teenage girls are sexually active but society has made sure to make them feel "dirty" for doing so. Society's perception of purity has such a dramatic effect on some girls that some consider suicide. Regardless of all of Lux’s attempts to lead a normal life her mother does everything to prevent it.
No one seems to understand the reasoning behind Lisbon girls’ suicides. That is why it so crucial to understand and reach out to teen-age girls,"The suicide rate among preteen and young teen girls spiked 76 percent in 2007" (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/09/06/health/main3239837.shtml). There are so many issues that affect young girls lives’ and it is crucial stage their lives when they are figuring out who they are. Girls should not be suppressed because there can be tragic outcomes. Society needs to provide young girls with outlets to express themselves.
The Virgin Suicides is one of those films that even once it has ended it leaves the viewer asking himself/herself many questions. The focus characters, the five Lisbon girls, are introduced early in the film (Celia, Lux, Bonnie, Mary, and Therese). The Lisbon girls’ ages range from thirteen to seventeen. The narrator of the film is an anonymous man who knew the Lisbon girls in his teenage years, and just like other teenage boys of the neighborhood, he was obsessed with them. The narrator tells the viewer the Lisbon girls’ story from his point of view that is why there are many questions left unanswered.
The story truly begins with the tragic suicide of the youngest Lisbon girl, Celia. Celia’s suicide had not been her first suicide attempt; Celia had tried once before by cutting her wrists. It did not take long for the neighborhood/community to find out what had happened to the Lisbon family. However, the Lisbon family attempted to continue their lives as if nothing had happened. The remaining Lisbon girls attended school and acted unaffected.
At first the viewer can’t understand what might have led Celia to end her life but throughout the film one starts to understand. The Lisbon girls did not live the life of normal teenage girls, and their mother made sure of that. Mrs. Lisbon overprotected her daughters way too much, they were not allowed to ride in cars, go on dates, or even join extracurricular activities.
Trip Fontaine who “loved” one of the Lisbon girls (Lux) gains the courage to ask her father permission to take her to Homecoming dance. After a deal made with the mother all the Lisbon girls are allowed to attend the Homecoming dance. The girls had “the time of their life” regardless of the grandma-ish dresses their mother made them wear. But, when curfew came around Lux did not make it home from the dance with her sisters. Lux had drank alcohol with Trip, who convinced her to go out to the football field where they end up having sex. Lux wakes up the next day and to her dismay she’s all alone. Once Lux gets home she is not punished for missing curfew, rather she is “imprisoned” along with her sisters. The girls are not even allowed to attend school, which my be what pushed them to the film's ending.
In the film Lux’s character illustrates various issues many teenage girls go through, and can relate to. Lux is like the typical girl, she is boy-crazy. Lux doodles all over her notebook about the boys she “loves” but she can’t openly be with. Due to her mother’s over-protection Lux uses her sexuality as an outlet. Lux’s mother controls so much of her life that she rebels by becoming sexually active, smoking, and drinking. I think that Lux's reaction is normal, many times when girls have vices it is their way of calling out for help,rebelling, or attempting to fulfill some sort of void. I believe Lux has sex to rebel because that is the one thing her mother cannot control. After having sex Lux looks for the guy’s approval, she asks one of the guys she sleeps with if he thinks, “she’s dirty”. The Purity Myth worries Lux, like it does many teenage girls. Many teenage girls are sexually active but society has made sure to make them feel "dirty" for doing so. Society's perception of purity has such a dramatic effect on some girls that some consider suicide. Regardless of all of Lux’s attempts to lead a normal life her mother does everything to prevent it.
No one seems to understand the reasoning behind Lisbon girls’ suicides. That is why it so crucial to understand and reach out to teen-age girls,"The suicide rate among preteen and young teen girls spiked 76 percent in 2007" (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/09/06/health/main3239837.shtml). There are so many issues that affect young girls lives’ and it is crucial stage their lives when they are figuring out who they are. Girls should not be suppressed because there can be tragic outcomes. Society needs to provide young girls with outlets to express themselves.
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