When the youngest Lisbon sister commits suicide, it sets in motion a series of events that will change the lives of many people forever. That's what the press materials for the film probably say. The movie lost me early on, immediately following the scene where the younger daughter jumps to her death from her bedroom window. Then, as the scene ends, the lawn sprinklers come on. From then on, the movie failed to draw me back in.
Performances are the only saving grace of The Virgin Suicides .
Woods plays the only character who would actually interest me when he came onscreen, but the performance of Kirsten Dunst as the next youngest daughter Lux is worth mentioning as well. Dunst has the potential to be a big star, if she chooses her projects well. And while this film is awful, she manages to come away from it virtually unscathed. There are also a few cameos in the film here and there, which only frustrate the audience as they leave you wanting more. Perhaps The Virgin Suicides would have worked had the story not been told from the point of view of people who had very little access to the main characters.