Cinematography: The Virgin Suicides

THE VIRGIN SUICIDES (1999)

Director: Sofia Coppola

Cinematographer: Edward Lachman

One of the things I love about The Virgin Suicides is its cinematography. Mainly employing shades of orange and blue, Edward Lachman (Far from Heaven, Erin Brockovich) achieves a remarkable blend of impossible dreamland and overwhelming dysphoria.

Oranges...

Ghosts of Yestertears

THE VIRGIN SUICIDES

Sofia Coppola, 1999

You're probably looking at your keyboard to verify if T is beside Y. Yes, it is. And no, it's not a typo. I use yestertears every time I refer to not-so-happy things in the past, yet here they are crawling their way to the present just to haunt you.

That's what happens to the narrator in The Virgin Suicides, Sofia Coppola's stunning feature film debut. The film tackles the dilemma of angst-ridden adolescence, the downsides of being a girl, teenage sexuality, the anguish of yearning, and — of course — the complexity of suicide.

Fave Movie Quotes: The Virgin Suicides

She was the still point of the turning world, man.

- Trip Fontaine

Before "Action" and After "Cut!"

Ever wondered how thespians behave between takes? Yeah? Me too. Well, here are some shots of actors and actresses seen behind the scenes. Featuring a gamut of personalities, these photos are just as fascinating as watching a film's apogee. Okay. Maybe that's an overstatement. Anyway, enjoy.

(This is a sequel to my first on-the-set post.)

It's amusing the way some actors show their love...

Tom Cruise and a guy on the set of Top Gun, circa 1985.

...and their friendliness...

L-R: A "friendly" Henry Fonda with Katharine Hepburn and Mark Rydell.

On Golden Pond set, c. 1981.

Fave Movie Moments: The Virgin Suicides

Sofia Coppola's feature film debut is a spellbinding adaptation of Jeffrey Eugenides' most famous novel, The Virgin Suicides. Set during the '70s, The Virgin Suicides is about the life and death of the Lisbon sisters, the overprotected daughters of a devout Catholic couple in a middle-class Michigan suburb.

"Cecilia was the first to go," says the narrator as we stare at Cecilia's serene face, her daydreaming blue eyes staring at a place way beyond other people's reach.