Mis-en-Scene: The Virgin Suicides

I am analyzing the 1999 film, The Virgin Suicides, directed by Sofia Coppola.  This was Sofia's first full length film as a director and she was just 27 years old when they began filming.  Adapted from the Jeffrey Eugenides novel, Sofia has said that she began thinking of the film the moment she read the book. And while she was true to the beauty of the novel she definitely added her own touch to the film.

This is a story of the awkward phase between childhood and adulthood.  Of the aches and pains of your first love and the obsessive behavior of adolescents learning about the ins and outs of infatuation.  I chose to analyze this scene in which the boys across the street are desperately trying to contact the girls.  There is something iconically American about the narration by the boys in this film.  This is one of my favorite elements of Sofia's interpretation.

Her vision for this story is evident in many of the little details.  For example, this clip begins with a note written by the girls.  Notice that it is on stationary with a rainbow in the background.  This is one of many little pieces of ephemera that reflect the youth and the femininity of the main characters.  The art director really brought this idea of youth to life with lots of clutter and chaos.  The girls' rooms seem littered with clothing items, teddy bears, records and makeup.  However, with the help of the costume designer, Sofia also toys with the idea that they are budding into adulthood by use of clothing and makeup.

Notice the colors of the film and the feelings they evoke.  Everything is tinged with a vintage tone that gives a feeling of nostalgia, but the shades turn quickly from yellow and warm to cold and blue which triggers a psychological response in the viewer.  The viewer gets a cold and sad feeling from the clips of the girls in their room.  Whereas the boys seem warm and cheery.

This isn't the only contrast I see in this scene.  Throughout the film you may notice that the girls are usually dressed in light colors and they all have blonde hair, whereas the male characters wear a lot of brown and dark blue and have darker hair.  This is extremely evident when the director uses a split screen to show the two side by side.  This has the effect of really separating the two genders for the sake of the story line.

She worked closely with the director of photography, Edward Lachman, who filmed many of the shots in very tight.  This gives the viewer a feeling of inclusion, almost like you are sitting with the boys as they dial the girl's phone number.  He filmed lots of little shots of the girls hair, their eyes, their smiles.  This makes the viewer almost understand what the boys across the street must be seeing when they look at the girls.  There are other brilliantly shot scenes that show the girls through trees or other obstacles that make the viewer feel like a voyeur.  Again, this is done to put the viewer in the shoes of the narrator.