Why didn't the boys try to save Lux? - The Virgin Suicides (2000) Discussion

[–] CaptainDgro 14 years ago

Yeah, this occurred to me right away. She must've been asking for help, right? All the boys had to do was think a little bit - oh yeah, we just saw Lux 2 minutes ago, where is she now? (waiting in the car!) - then pop open the garage door and she's totally fine. So did Lux really want to be saved? Or would she have killed herself anyways? I don't know. It's bugging me.

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[–] Chefeetaboopers 13 years ago

I agree... she kinda seemed offish about going. so, who knows?

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[–] memories16 13 years ago

The boys couldn't save Lux because they were so caught up in themselves and their Fantasy about running away with the girls. Remember, on their way to the basement to see what was taking them so long they Missed the other sister with her head in the oven...

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[–] jimmiescoffee 13 years ago

they only saw the one sister hanging. you wouldn't run? particularly if you were a scared kid? they had no clue it was a group suicide.

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[–] lethalblonde 13 years ago

They tripped over another one's legs on their way out, actually--there was a super quick shot of it. Also pretty insane that they didn't notice the basement was still "decorated" with all the withered balloons and everything else from the party for Cecelia. They were definitely wrapped up in their excitement over the possibility of spending time with the girls.

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[–] cobnut 12 years ago

Even now nearing my thirties, I would freak out, mind-blank and run away screaming if I saw just one corpse of a person who died violently, let alone three (Mary, Therese and Bonnie were all dead in the house by the time the boys ran out). Those boys were young teenagers and in that type of situation, instinct kicks in and overrules logic. They probably ran to call the police or an ambulance. They didn't know Lux had gone to kill herself and in that state of mind it would take a psycho or a superhuman to sit down and think quietly about it before acting.

The mirror... it's broken.
Yes, I know. I like it that way. Makes me look the way I feel.

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[–] ilahilda 12 years ago

That is weird the guy did not see the girl hanging down, she wasn't that far from him. I agree, they did not know it was a group suicide. I wonder if Lux discovered she was pregnant. She did sleep around a lot.

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[–] isiscloud 12 years ago

Yeah, the fact that the basement was still decorated was sooooo creepy. The boys were too caught up in the fantasy of taking the girls away. I wonder how they ordered all of those magazine. If they had a phone, which is surprising why didn't they call social services or something like that?

The boys were only 15/16 themselves.

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[–] ilahilda 12 years ago

In regards to social services, are you referring to the boys or the girls?

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[–] 12 years ago

[deleted]

[–] coney_island_baby 12 years ago

I don't think Lux wanted to be saved, they all wanted to die that night. In the book, the boys come to the conclusion that Lux talked and flirted with them as a distraction, so that her sisters could die in peace.

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[–] StarSassy 11 years ago

They didn't know I think. I thin if they saw her In the car they would have done something because they really liked the Lisbon sisters.

A lot of people don't want to make their own decisions. They are too scared. - Marilyn Manson

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[–] manofsteel4455 11 years ago

All I know is this movie just makes you want to jump in the movie and just try to do something for the Lisbon sisters.

You want to play the game, you'd better know the rules, love.
-Harry Callahan

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[–] HenryCW 10 years ago

Actually they should have tried not only to save Lux but should have alerted the parents and there was some chance that one or two of the others might have been saved too. Look at the individual cases.

1. Bonnie's death by hanging
In such a situation, the first thing to do is to cut down the person and try to revive her. I assume she was not an expert in hanging herself and unless her neck was broken there was some chance of saving her.

2. Mary putting her head into the oven
Again she might not be dead and perhaps had just passed out.

3. Therese's drug overdose
In hindsight she might have died hours earlier. In practice, the chance of survival is high if discovered in time.

4. Lux's death in the car:
She died not by closing the car's windows but by running the engine in the garage, which was larger and most likely not close to airtight. It was too bad that the boys didn't even bother to look for her.

Of course, it might turn out that all of them were beyond saving, but they didn't know at the time. Just fleeing the house was outright irresponsbile. I guess they just freaked out. With gas filling the garage and the house, somebody might put on the light and blow the whole house up.

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[–] Injinn 10 years ago

I wouldn't say it was "outright irresponsible" as it was downright immature -- which fits in with the personalities of the boys.

Throughout the film and book the theme seems to be, the boys never really SAW the Lisbon sisters. All their fevered dreams were based on figments of the real people. They didn't know the first thing about Bonnie, Mary, Therese or Cecilia -- and the little they knew of Lux was at a distance. They were madly in love with the possibilities, not the people.

They were stupid teenagers that had no idea about the very real pain the girls were experiencing.

In the film they -- the narrator representing the boys -- even states that it was likely Bonnie died while they were daydreaming in the living room. Therese died of an overdose before they arrived, and Mary put her head in the oven -- which didn't kill her in the book, but they don't delay the inevitable in the film.

The only ones that could have been saved were Mary and Lux. Mary ended up killing herself anyway in the book, and Lux's situation was just another reminder of how immature the boys were. They reacted like most immature teenagers would: they ran like hell.

An adult might have kept a level head, even despite the horror, and saved someone; teenagers aren't usually that level-headed.

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