THE VIRGIN SUICIDES -- *** -- Kirsten Dunst, Kathleen Turner, James Woods, Josh Hartnett, Jonathan Tucker, Leslie Hayman, Hanna Hall, A.J. Cook, Chelse Swain; rated R (profanity, drug use, sex, vulgarity); exclusively at the Loews Cineplex Broadway Centre Cinemas.
It's hard enough for even the most experienced filmmakers to strike the right balance between tragedy and comedy. So imagine being a first-timer like Sofia Coppola and trying to pull off that feat.Top that off with the fact that she's got several hard acts to follow. Her father is legendary director Francis Ford Coppola, she counts actors Nicolas Cage and Talia Shire as blood relatives, and she's married to acclaimed avant-garde filmmaker Spike Jonze.
But if her feature-length debut, "The Virgin Suicides," is any indication, she should do just fine. This corrosive tragi-comedy is a surprisingly well-put-together little movie that achieves most of its goals.
In fact, in terms of quality, the film is just a notch or two below some recent greats in the genre, such as "American Beauty" and "The Ice Storm." It's also no less difficult to watch, right down to a rather disturbing ending that will haunt you for days.
While much of the credit should go to Coppola, it obviously helped to have a strong cast, which includes Kathleen Turner and James Woods as the Lisbons, an ordinary suburban couple, circa 1970.
Turner and Woods try to be loving parents, but they've got their hands full with "The Lisbon Girls," their nubile teen and pre-teen daughters.
As the film opens, the family has been rocked by the suicide of the youngest daughter, Cecilia (Hanna Hall, appearing as a ghostly specter in several scenes). That's made Mom even more cautious about letting the girls out of the house.
But that's not about to stop their smitten classmates, especially hunky Trip Fontaine (Josh Hartnett), who's got his heart set on taking Lux Lisbon (Kirsten Dunst) to the school prom.
The girls' pressure Mom, until she eventually agrees to let them go. But she soon regrets that decision when Trip keeps Lux out a little too late, and in retaliation she locks her daughters away -- possibly for good.
Coppola, who also wrote the screenplay, has done a credible job of adapting Jeffrey Eugenides' novel. Her direction is remarkably self-assured, even if the pacing is a bit off at times.
Again, credit should also go to the cast, in particular Turner and Woods, and Dunst makes the most of her first real starring role. The latter performance may be more a reflection of Coppola's abilities, though, since she's also able to coax an actual performance out of the usually wooden Hartnett.
There are also some good cameo appearances and brief supporting turns (including Danny DeVito as a psychologist, Scott Glenn as a priest and an uncredited Giovanni Ribisi as the film's narrator).
"The Virgin Suicides" is rated R for occasional strong language, simulated drug use (marijuana), discreet sex scenes and some crude humor. Running time: 97 minutes.
You can reach Jeff Vice by e-mail at jeff@desnews.com