Virginia: Movie Review

Undertones of mental illness, religion and politics take Virginia to interesting places.

Virginia (Jennifer Connelly) is one seriously disturbed woman. One possible look at it is that she was screwed over by having an affair with an aspiring Senator, Dick Tipton (Ed Harris), who left her pregnant and alone to raise her son as a single mother. “Virginia” has a number of storylines, some in present time, some in flashbacks, but all resulting from the affair between Virginia and Sheriff Tipton.		2010 Directed by: Dustin Lance Black Screenplay by: Dustin Lance Black Starring: Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris
The first is one of a teen romance. Virginia’s son, Emmett (Harrison Gilbertson) is in love with the Sheriff’s daughter, Jessie (Emma Roberts). The problem is they are half-siblings and they’re told they’re not even allowed to see each other let alone be friends with each other. Nobody is supposed to know of the affair so their forced separation can raise a few eyebrows. Interestingly, it’s Emmett who starts questioning what’s really going on. What’s really going on is that nobody is stable. The Sherriff is a devout Mormon and extreme conservative. In his Senatorial bid campaign, he needs a photo-op with a red, white and blue Ferris wheel, but the town’s only Ferris wheel is pink and it’s owned by an out-and-proud gay man. It is the simple conflicts like this which are resolved on the surface which lead to the very interesting dynamics in the film. Dustin Lance Black is a relatively young filmmaker who is making his directorial debut with “Virginia” and previously wrote the screenplays for “Milk”, “J. Edgar” and the HBO series “Big Love”. He was raised in a Mormon household and community and was worried about his sexuality. Most of his filmmaking career has been spent inspiring people to become LGBT activists. What is interesting about “Virginia” is that while none of the main characters are outwardly gay, the film appears to still be very personal with the boardwalk town likely doubling for Black’s hometown of San Antonio, Texas. The religious undertones are very present but never over-powering. The overall plot of “Virginia” definitely has places to go but the story hasn’t been too well received. What is more interesting is what the film is trying to say without actually saying it. Black is such a talented writer that there’s lots to read in between the lines.

Recommended:

J. Edgar (2011) - Presenting us a hero but not defining hero versus villain.