Sweet Virginia (2017)

Simply Perfect

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

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

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

Christopher Abbott is a brilliant actor and he really shines with this character. He's genuinely terrifying in fact. The other characters stories aren't lacking but Abbott just outdid them. I think we were meant to concentrate on the hero toward the end but it was hard to care about him tbh. The film falls short of something toward the end, I can't really put my finger on it.

This movie is stocked with great actors and great plot ideas that just never come together. Bernthal is great but even his character is a bit flimsy with a lot of unanswered details about his past looming over the viewer. The action in the film is great and you'll be engaged, but you'll be wishing there was more character development to really pull things together.

This was a strong movie, yet subtle in every way. The acting is superb and cinematography is profoundly impressive. It's a simple plot, but sticks in your head after, very thought provoking. I was impressed with Jon Bernthal's blunt emotional performance as well as Christopher Abbot's take on playing a psychopath with a conscience. It's a mystery, drama that will haunt you at the end. The China Brothers pay close attention to detail and focus in on unexpected, interesting camera angles throughout the film. This movie is ALL about 'less-is-more', unpretentious dialogue and realistic acting. It has its own style though, somewhere in between Robert Altman and The Coen Brothers. I think it's a perfect movie and one hell of an unexpected 'classic' of the year!

Two thirds of the film are a build-up to an underwhelming ending. Jon Bernthal's physique should grant him a long career but his acting can't lift this very poor script. His portrayal of a sensible tough guy is reduced to some exaggerated mannerisms and speaking with his throat instead of his mouth. Still, everything else is so lame that he somehow ends up owning the film. I watched this because of my huge crush on Imogen Poots. She's awesome but her character is painfully underwritten. She has a couple of promising scenes and then dissapears. There are lots of missed opportunities all the way and, in my opinion, her character is the worst one.Then there is the bad guy, who does feel like a threat sometimes. That 's good, but he seems written in one afternoon as well. A midwest version of Javier Bardem´s role in "No Country for Old Men". His relationship with the main character is too vague for a possible confrontation to have any kind of dramatic effect.The technical part of the film is flawless and this could have been great but how anyone would consider this script to be finished is beyond me.