Virginia

"Dear Lord please let each of us come out of this in one piece." Virginia (Connelly) is a single mother raising her teen son in a small town. She is not sure of who the father is but she has been having an affair with the local married sheriff (Harris) for almost 20 years and wants it to be his. When he announces his run for state senate things begin to get tricky. This is a very hard movie to explain there seems to be a lot of sub plots going on but it is not hard to keep up with them. Connelly plays the character perfect and while she is psychologically disturbed it is not over the top at all and very believable. I enjoyed this but to me this is another example of a movie's cast being better then the movie. This is still very much worth watching and is one of the better indie movies to come out in a long time it is still a little slow. This movie is very emotional though and really runs you through as many as it can before the ending which is great. Overall, great acting really helps this movie out and this is a good movie that is worth watching but not really one you can see over and over. Amanda liked it more then I did but I give it a B.

I saw the premiere of this film tonight at the tiff festival in Toronto. Most of the starring cast was on hand for the premiere, which was nice, and they appeared very proud of the film.

In all, the film was a bit above average, but the pacing was a bit off in places and so it seemed that just when it sucked you in it let you go, and that repeated several times during the show. It's a good film though, with a great deal of humour and subtleties, but doesn't quite get there enough to make it a great film.

Jennifer Connolly gives a very inspired performance, and she's really the one who draws you in the most and really puts you through a bit of an emotional roller-coaster. She's over the top, silly, tragic, and lovable, though you never quite figure her out. Ed Harris plays a wonderfully complex and very understated role, but it's the underlying parts of his character that he brings out so well.

In the end, you don't quite come out with a feeling that you were completely happy, but you have a lot of good parts to look back on. I would have given this film an 8 if not for the uneven pacing of the film, and if you're into character driven stories then you'll likely enjoy this one.

This was not for me.

A schizophrenic(?) mother has delusions regarding almost every aspect of her troubled life: her importance to the Sherrif as a love affair, her ability to parent, her health, and her faith. The son plays along with these delusions as a way to "protect" her or something-a goal that does not end up happening.

Every character feels half-baked here. This movie feels like a dream in the sense that things just don't feel right/real.

Also, I'm not sure the themes or messages this movie tries to impart were worth telling, at least in this way. I often found myself just not wanting to be with these characters anymore.

Maybe this story works for others, but I had a real tough time finding something about it to warm up to.

WATCHED ON: Prime Video

HIGHER OR LOWER: Lower.

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.

It's always difficult to portray mental illness but the mixture of comedy and violence in this movie totally confused the issue.