The Virgin Suicides

So this is a review put together from my first thoughts about the movie, I could say a lot more about it and I also think I will change my mind and see some things differently in a few days so may come back and add to my thoughts. This is my first time writing one so it's for sure not the best lol. It would def be better to wait a bit and think about it more but i'm a bit impatient.

Let me know if you agree/disagree with me! I would like to see your insights.

When I found out the story was being told from the boys' points of view, I was scared I wouldn't understand the sisters at all, but after a while, I realized that Sofia managed to somehow transport the feelings of those poor girls without it needing to be explicit. So even though we never get a full explanation of them, i think we can feel it. Nobody apart from them truly knows. Their pain, thoughts, and feelings die with them; they keep their secret because they realize that the outside world, as well as their parents, doesn't understand them at all.

I really like the whole muted, powder-pink color aesthetic of the sisters. I think it reinforces their appearance as a dream, a desire, or a fairytale. It's very clean and gives off the feeling of calmness, obedience, and innocence. We can see it in their walls, clothes, makeup, and room decor. All of those things aren't things they picked for themselves. Throughout the movie, we can see how their mother controls them. She is very strict, alters their clothes, and has decorated the entire house in those colors. I think it's also something the mother picked, along with all the religious decorations and artifacts.

It reminds me of a ballad called Polednice, where a mother, busy cooking a meal, gets angry at her son for being naughty and interrupting her. She tells him that she's going to invite Polednice, an old lady who takes children who aren't home by noon, to come for him. She regrets it immediately after and holds him tight as Polednice comes inside. The mother screams and cries, begging her not to take her son away. Polednice leaves, but the little boy’s body in his mother's arms is now lifeless. So, in both of these stories, the parents end up killing their children in an attempt to shield and protect them. The first sister dying obviously makes the parents uncomfortable—they know something went wrong, but they won't admit their mistake. With suicide seen as sinful, admitting that would make them just as bad as their daughter. Honestly, I don't think they even fully realize it. And while I know they let the girls have a party after her first attempt, I think it’s more to take the blame off themselves—to be able to say they tried to save her. Then, they try it again with the older sisters, and Lux not coming back in time is the reason why they "squeeze" them even harder. The reason why their behaviour, actions and strict rules are not the problem.

The whole movie feels dull, very airtight. A bit like suffocating in a freshly washed duvet you're trapped in. Something soft and beautiful on the outside but lonely, sad, and broken inside. Just like the Lisbon house and the sisters. It feels almost claustrophobic, which I think is what the girls felt like—numb and isolated. And I think what they sought from the other kids was understanding. I think they felt free with them, but only for a while, until they realized the other kids didn't understand them either. They were too blinded by their desires and the idea they had of the girls to really see them. In a way, they tried to cage them too, with their assumptions about who the girls were and what they wanted them to be. Trip leaving Lux in the field, not caring about how she’s going to get home, and the boys not trying to contact them when they get grounded, are when the girls start to realize they don't value their minds and souls, but only their physical appearances. They lust over them because they're an unreachable mystery.

I really liked it and gave it 4,5 stars on letterboxd !

Let me know what do you think about the story and the sisters!