The Virgin Suicides (2000)

The critic finds Sofia Coppola's elliptical directorial debut terrific and haunting, capturing the novel's complexity while adding something of her own. It hovers on the edge of familiar genres but stands apart as a unique film that viewers should see even if they do not fully understand it.

Coppola's assured directorial debut is a truthful arthouse teen film that explores the dark side of adolescence with wit and delicacy. It singles out the believable teenage characters and beautifully shot, disturbingly erotic atmosphere for praise.

This is a sultry, heady and seductive tale of adolescent turmoil and a stunning directorial debut. It singles out the stunning visuals, ethereal score and strong performances, especially by Kirsten Dunst, for praise while noting the slight plot.

Sofia Coppola's stylish and well-crafted debut is warm and evocative of teenage hormones and 1970s suburbia but leaves a huge question mark at its centre. It singles out the mood and performances by James Woods and Kathleen Turner for praise while criticising the lack of conclusions.

Coppola shows impressive maturity and assured skill in her directorial debut, adapting the novel into a highly affecting, venturesome film that moves smoothly from pitch-dark humor to a stark emotional toll. It is a somber, downbeat tale of repressed lives in a seemingly normal suburban family that ultimately feels like a real downer.

The film captures the gawky, insecure yearning of neighborhood boys for the Lisbon sisters as much as the girls' own story, mourning the end of adolescent idealism and the compromises of adulthood. Coppola plays the material in a minor key with an air of mystery and loss rather than hammering home explanations.

Coppola's debut is a mixed bag but a noteworthy one, effectively capturing the blend of whimsy and melancholy in 1970s suburban adolescence through strong performances, design and tone, though it falters with trickery and unresolved elements toward the end.

Coppola delivers a dreamy paean to stilted adolescence with universal appeal that examines the mysteries of female sexuality and what lies behind troubled picket fences. The film is as much a relevant view of adolescence and male/female relations as it is an act of remembrance.

Sofia Coppola's assured debut adapts the novel with plucky fearlessness, using fantasy sequences and an enchanted suburban atmosphere to evoke the Lisbon sisters' lissome dance toward extinction as seen through infatuated boys' eyes. It quiets skepticism about her filmmaking ability and stands as the work of an imaginative director in her own right.

Coppola's promising feature debut tackles teenage suicide with an assured seriocomic tone and original narrative structure viewing events from a contemporary male perspective. It avoids easy explanations or satirical shortcuts, staying droll, heartfelt, and poignant while delivering credible youthful performances and strong production values evoking 1970s suburbia.

Coppola's confident directorial debut uses imaginative photographic techniques and strong performances from the adult cast to tell the story of the Lisbon sisters from the boys' perspective. The film ends abruptly, however, and lacks the sharp impact of comparable suburban satires like American Beauty.