Amazing camerawork, awesome performances, fun, teenage celebration, overall a very solid movie. That said, loses a lot of points and potential for a few reasons:
1. Pacing: everything was pretty good until the end, when the suicides do happen. The final scenes feel very rushed and don't develop the girls sadness at all. Quite the contrary they offer a sort of reprieve in their communications with the boys. This might read to some people as a "twist" but knowing from the beginning that they're all going to kill themselves doesn't support that idea.
2. The resolution: Again, why did they kill themselves? And in such spectacular fashion? I don't think its crucial that Sofia answer these questions explicitly, but the obvious answer given (fundamental Christian mom smothers her kids) is so unsatisfying and boring that I can't believe that was all there was to it. Unfortunately the film doesn't expound on this, there's this sort of stupid mystique to why 5 girls would decide to kill themselves, when that decision would have been highly personal and important and could've been used to say so much more.
3. The pseudo-philosophical lamenting by the narrator: Kind of charming when they're looking through the sister's diary, watching them from a telescope, talking with the other neighborhood boys. But this idea is really not central to the plot until the ending scene where the narrator states he was in love with the sisters, and that he wishes that he could put back the pieces together of why they killed themselves, wishing he could solve the mystery, etc etc. With the lack of any substance (points 1 and 2) to actually take meaning from, its annoying how much meaning and nostalgia the narrator has. This is also exemplified by Trip's proclamation of true love to Lux, despite leaving her on the field in the middle of the night and never calling her. These things just don't add up. There's too much mystery for mystery's sake, without any reason or explanation outside of "its weird"
Sad the movie missed the mark in such crucial ways, could have been really great.
1. Pacing: everything was pretty good until the end, when the suicides do happen. The final scenes feel very rushed and don't develop the girls sadness at all. Quite the contrary they offer a sort of reprieve in their communications with the boys. This might read to some people as a "twist" but knowing from the beginning that they're all going to kill themselves doesn't support that idea.
2. The resolution: Again, why did they kill themselves? And in such spectacular fashion? I don't think its crucial that Sofia answer these questions explicitly, but the obvious answer given (fundamental Christian mom smothers her kids) is so unsatisfying and boring that I can't believe that was all there was to it. Unfortunately the film doesn't expound on this, there's this sort of stupid mystique to why 5 girls would decide to kill themselves, when that decision would have been highly personal and important and could've been used to say so much more.
3. The pseudo-philosophical lamenting by the narrator: Kind of charming when they're looking through the sister's diary, watching them from a telescope, talking with the other neighborhood boys. But this idea is really not central to the plot until the ending scene where the narrator states he was in love with the sisters, and that he wishes that he could put back the pieces together of why they killed themselves, wishing he could solve the mystery, etc etc. With the lack of any substance (points 1 and 2) to actually take meaning from, its annoying how much meaning and nostalgia the narrator has. This is also exemplified by Trip's proclamation of true love to Lux, despite leaving her on the field in the middle of the night and never calling her. These things just don't add up. There's too much mystery for mystery's sake, without any reason or explanation outside of "its weird"
Sad the movie missed the mark in such crucial ways, could have been really great.