“Cecelia was the first to go.” And so starts the first film directed by Sofia Coppola, daughter of Francis Ford and miscast daughter of Michael Corleone in the Godfather III. This was my second time seeing this film, and I enjoyed it even more the second time round. The film centres around the five daughters of the Lisbon family 25 years ago in Michigan - Cecelia [13], Lux [14], Bonnie [15], Mary [16] and Terese [17].

In her disillusionment with the world, more trees being cut down and animals becoming extinct every day, Cecelia attempts suicide but is rushed off to hospital just in time. When a male doctor tries to tell the girl that things aren’t that bad, she returns with one of the film’s classic lines. “Obviously, Doctor, you’ve never been a 13-year old girl.”

The Lisbon parents, a strict Catholic mother (played by Kathleen Turner) and a hapless mild-mannered Maths teacher (an unusually understated performance from the normally maniacal James Woods), decide to try and let their daughters mix more with the boys of the neighbourhood by inviting them over for dinners and parties on the advice of psychologist Dr. E.M. Horniker (short cameo by Danny DeVito - why the credits listed a stand-in for him I’ll probably never know). This does little to lift young Cecelia’s spirits, and she succeeds where she failed before.

The film moves on to focus on second youngest daughter Lux (Kirsten ‘Interview with the Vampire’ Dunst), and her relationship with school heartthrob Trip Fontaine. Unfortunately, the characters of the elder three sisters are left undeveloped and it’s hard to feel much sympathy for them when they are grounded by their parents after Lux fails to come home from a homecoming dance with Trip.

The film is interesting in that it is not narrated by any of the Lisbons or Trip, but rather from the viewpoint of one of a group of boys obsessed both with the sisters and also with collecting anything linked to them.

The second time around you sometimes notice something that perhaps shouldn’t be, like the news reporter who says she’s from ‘Channel 2′ appearing on ‘News Channel 8′, or an error in the number PI over Mr. Lisbon’s blackboard [okay, now I'm nitpicking!]. But apart from the hollow sisters, I really liked this film from the Coppolas [producer was Francis Ford and second unit director was Roman].

It also features a brilliant soundtrack by one of my favourite groups, the French band Air, with songs like “Ce Matin La” and constant reworkings of “Playground Love” which I just had to go and buy afterwards and it’s still vibraphoning in my head as I write! The film is based on a novel by Jefffrey Eugenides.

***1/2