Virgil Bliss

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Virgil Bliss is a man obsessed with living a normal life, finding a good job, marrying a decent woman, and building a family of his own. But as a recently paroled career thief with a hair-tr... Read allVirgil Bliss is a man obsessed with living a normal life, finding a good job, marrying a decent woman, and building a family of his own. But as a recently paroled career thief with a hair-trigger temper and the social skills of a child, he faces distinct challenges. At the halfwa... Read allVirgil Bliss is a man obsessed with living a normal life, finding a good job, marrying a decent woman, and building a family of his own. But as a recently paroled career thief with a hair-trigger temper and the social skills of a child, he faces distinct challenges. At the halfway house where he gets his first taste of freedom in over a decade, Virgil meets Manny Alva... Read all

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.9/10

262

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 win & 3 nominations

Photos6

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Dedicated to Ken Loach, Mike Leigh and John Cassavetes.

Soundtracks
Midnight Special
Arrangement by John Fogerty
Performed by Greta Gaines
Courtesy of Fantasy Records

User reviews14

Review

Featured review

Virgil's Bliss?

Bliss is an apt surname for this man-child whose criminality began in his elementary school years and finished up with graduate studies in Rikers, NYC. Expect a hardened criminal, cynical posture and an impenetrable veneer? You'll find a mannerly southern boy trying to do the right things on the road to recovery.

Virgil is a sympathetic character released, after a brief decompression in a halfway house, to a city beyond his comprehension. Since his New York experience was all in a jail, he's thinking his small town instincts will serve him well here. Unaffected by prison mores, his re-entry is hastened by his unreformed roommate determined to accustom Virgil to the culture of NYC (mean) streets.

Transitions are always painful but our hero is blessed with incremental success. The quest to overcome his past, reform the wayward and recover his long lost integrity is the fascinating struggle that keeps the story rolling. The odds of success are slim but Virgil is not the typical ex-con. And 'Virgil Bliss' is not your typical morality tale. The title role is portrayed by Clint Jordan whose training prepared him with real prison time. Watch for more from this talent and hope that this vehicle gets the mileage to move him on.

Virgil's incremental progress is hindered by the excre-mental patients who inhabit the world of the ex-con and illustrate the problem of recidivism even for the most determined felon. And the viewer is left with the task of solving this conundrum.

Are you up to it?