Virginia (2010)

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Slightly disturbed Virginia (Jennifer Connelly) lives with her protective son Emmett in a Virginian town. She's in a long-term affair with Sheriff Richard Tipton (Ed Harris) who is married to Roseanna (Amy Madigan) and has daughter Jessie (Emma Roberts). Emmett is in love with Jessie. Richard uses his powers to keep them apart. Virginia tells Richard that she's pregnant. He's running for the State Senate and pays her out of the campaign funds. She's actually faking it. There is also a cross dressing Max (Toby Jones) with his pink ferris wheel. It all ends with a bank robbery.This is filled with quirky characters that aren't funny. The story meanders a lot. There are a few surprises which don't do much. It's either a comedy that fails to be funny or a drama with too much chaotic quirkiness. Connelly projects a beautiful damaged soul which could be great for a sad drama. I'm just not sure what this movie is trying to be.

I watched Virginia in three parts, because it was slow enough that I kept drifting off. Jennifer Connelly did what she could with what she had. I found the overall story unmoving. I think if the focus had been more on Virginia, and had the story generated more chemistry between her and her son, it might have seemed more redemptive at the end. As it was, the film ranged from sad to emotionless.I was told that I should see Virginia just for the shoot out alone. In fact, some of the reviews talk specifically about the amazing 'shootout', which consists of Virginia firing one shot, followed by a montage of the Sheriff's department shooting at her windows. If that's what passes for a 'shootout'...well...it left me tired. Very tired.From the time the son put on the dress, I knew exactly where it was going.

Virginia (2010)An offbeat black comedy that is all charm and surprise. It plays off of a nostalgia for a simple middle America and inserts a woman who is both lovable and off her rocker. Her son is a precocious and tender teen with dreams of his own and he gets caught in the middle. The result is warm and funny and actually, in its comic way, tragic. The star and an amazing star is Jennifer Connelly, but she is well paired with the young Harrison Gilbertson. Third in line is Ed Harris playing a cop or district attorney running for office. It's Virginia Beach, Virginia and there is for some reason a Mormon presence which adds to the humor because of course even Mormons can do outrageous things. Affairs fly against expectations, nuttiness becomes dangerous chaos, and innocence is shattered thoroughly. All in ironic good fun. The story is key and it's written by the director, Dustin Lance Black. This is his first full fledged movie and it's too bad the responses are so negative. I liked it a lot. Even just appreciating the sheer acting prowess of Connelly is enough to last all the way through. Throw in a half dozen other good performances, some wonderful sets and locations, and really solid photography and it makes for something significant. Finally make the story as crazy as it is and you might have a good time here. It's not perfect, for sure. They pull the same trick that was used in another, better Connelly film, "The House of Sand and Fog," where the opening scene is the end of the story, and the rest is filling in all the facts. This means a certain surprise is removed, and an expectation raised. You might also say this is all just so frivolous and sensationalist--it means nothing and you take nothing away from it (unlike "Sand and Fog" for example again). And that's true. It's an entertainment, and maybe even a bit of a fairy tale fantasy. Certainly the very last scene, which is after the moment that opens the movie, is a comic (improbable) euphoric conclusion to it all.Check it out? Yes, if you like offbeat films.

Few actors today have the breadth of Jennifer Connelly. She never shirks from difficult roles. From Mullholland Falls to Little Children or The House Of Sand and Fog and now this, she plays her characters convincingly as though she owns them in her heart. She never takes it over the top. Ed Harris' character is a cardboard cop and is well done given the parameters of the role. This movie is a brilliant portrait of a mentally challenged mom trying to make the best in this world for her son. Harrison Gilbertson is very good as her boy. Emma Roberts as his girlfriend does a great job as a dutiful Mormon 16 year old. Amy Madigan is convincing as Ed Harris' wife. See it with an open heart and this movie will transport you. Brilliant.