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Directed by – Sofia Coppola

Starring – James Woods (Mr Lisbon), Kathleen Turner (Mrs Lisbon), Kirsten Dunst (Lux Lisbon), Josh Hartnett (Trip Fontaine), A.J. Cook (Mary Lisbon), Hanna Hall (Cecilia Lisbon), Leslie Hayman (Therese Lisbon), Chelse Swain (Bonnie Lisbon), Jonathan Tucker (Tim Weiner), Anthony DeSimone (Chase Buell), Giovanni Ribisi (Narrator)

Length – 93 minutes

Cert – 15 / R

Sofia Coppola, daughter of legendary director Francis Ford Coppola, didn't really wish to pursue an acting career, which might explain The Godfather: Part III. So she grew up and grew some balls in the process when it came to writing and directing an adaptation of Jeffrey Eugenides' novel The Virgin Suicides.

Set in Michigan during the 1970s, the film narrates the story of four boys, led by Tim (Tucker) and the reason for their permanent hard-ons - their neighbors, the five Lisbon sisters. Cecilia (Hall) is the quiet one and also the youngest at 13; Lux (Dunst) is the one that gets all the guys; Bonnie (Swain) is the clever one; Mary (Cook) is the helpful one and Therese (Hayman), the oldest at 17, is the motivated one. Their parents, Mr. Lisbon (Woods) and Mrs. Lisbon (Turner), are so repressively religious that the boys find it difficult to even talk to the girls. Everything changes after one of the girls commits suicide.

With its teen suicide storyline and dashes of black comedy, you may end up expecting The Virgin Suicides to be Heathers II: Croquet With A Chainsaw. However, the experience is more akin to having evidence being laid out in front of you; only there's no crime to solve, just people to decipher. Outlandishly mysterious, the film is incredibly haunting, made even more so with Air's musical score. Their track "Playground Love" plays every so often, evoking a laid back, melancholy feel.

Coppola was blessed with a great cast, whose performances are spot on. James Woods amazingly plays things straight, trying to appear as normal as possible, while Kathleen Turner comes across as a more mild Serial Mom, enforcing rules and throwing the most awkward party. Dunst as Lux pulls off the seductive yet bored look, sending guys wild with lust, and it's likely that many men watching must have felt the same way (Dunst was only 16-years-old during filming... you dirty old man). Lux doesn't actually have to do anything to lure them in; they're drawn to her like Catholic priests to nurseries, even sharing their brief encounters ("smell my fingers, man"). Hall as Cecilia shows witty intelligence and ultimately sets the tone for the film with her opening line. Her lack of screen time is made up via the lasting impact she leaves. Also, special mention goes to Coppola's decision to introduce Josh Hartnett's Trip Fontaine to Heart's Magic Man.

Apart from tiny nuances, there's little to distinguish the rest of the sisters from each other, and similarly it's the same with the neighborhood boys. They're just this mass of hormones. Likewise, we don't know which of the boys is narrating, but since there's little that separates them it's quite likely that they all share the same voice.

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