Sweet Virginia (2017) User Reviews

Like... They got a budget reduction while filming or something

[educallejero · 6/10 · 5 August 2018]

So. They set up the characters really well. Super engaging scenes that makes you learn about all of them. They open a ton of threads about all of them in subtle, natural ways, plus relationships between some of them...

And then all ends in a few sequences in a non-climax. I honestly believe they thought they could film for more time in a two hour film, they were noticed that wasn't going to be the case, and rewrote the end so they could at least sell the movie.

Having said that, the acting and script of the good parts (2/3) of the movie was so good that I couldn't give this movie less than a six...

When something looks good, but not really

[NoPantsBatman · 6/10 · 9 December 2017]

Sweet Virginia, where dreams come to die. The movie is dictated by Lila (Imogen Poots) hiring Elwood (Christopher Abbott) to murder her husband, which he ended up killing two more people.

I don't really know what was the exact goal of the director, Jamie M. Dagg, with this movie. It's a mix of well placed scenes with some seemingly random scenes. Some scenes helped me understand what motivated the characters, giving a good background and their point of view on the reality they were facing and/or faced. But some scenes throughout the movie, especially scenes involving Sam (Jon Bernthal), just looked like that they were there to fill time until the end, not giving any real purpose or content to the story itself. It made me feel confused, in a somewhat small movie of 93 minutes.

I also got the impression that the real goal of the movie was to show how screwed up people are, with all the lies, deceit and lack of truth in their actions. I was able to feel the tension in almost every part of the movie, which was a good thing.

I enjoyed watching Jon Bernthal play a character outside his normal roles. Here he is someone non-violent, that shows patience and compassion. Was surprising to say the least, but a good surprise.

It was good to see a reality that I personally never experienced. A reality filled with secrets, lies, opportunism and, at some degree, fake. What threw me down to not give a better rating was the way the story was told, I felt kind of empty while watching it, becoming lost in my thoughts "why is this happening?", "what's the point of this?", "did they forget about her?". They could have delivered it a bit better, with more consistency. I really wanted to like this movie, had potential, but, unfortunately, I have to give it 6 out of 10.

Pros and Cons of "Sweet Virginia"

[Vlasios_Tzomos · 7/10 · 30 June 2018]

Pros: Scenario 6/10 (Terse script, plain scenario not complicated, no plot holes but nothing that we haven't see before... not much character analysis, covered by good acting though) Direction 7/10 (Jamie Dagg made a good dark Neo-Noir/Neo Western thriller) Cinematography 7/10 Jon Bernthal 7/10 Christopher Abbott 8/10 (Really convincing as a psycho character... scary convincing!) Cons: Actually I found no important weaknesses in this movie. Nice movie. 7/10 by me.

Very good Americana neo-noir

[Red-Barracuda · 7/10 · 27 June 2017]

In a small-town Alaska, a triple murder is committed one night. The professional hit-man responsible has been hired by a local woman to wipe out her husband but two other men are killed in the process. The killer sets up stall in a motel run by a former rodeo star.

The title Sweet Virginia refers to an earlier draft of the film set in the American south involving a cowboy killer and all the rest of it. Moving the setting further north to Alaska gives the film a different edge, although it does render the title less meaningful. Its director is Jamie M. Dagg recently made the Laos set chase film River (2015) which was good, if a little minimalistic, but with Sweet Virginia he definitely shows progress as a film-maker. This one is a little more expansive in approach with more detailed characters and plot. You could probably fairly say that there is nothing especially new here but it is held together with some good performances such as Jon Bernthal as the motel owner who is not your typical hero in that he takes a beating when you don't expect him to and generally is quite meek in direct contrast to how he looks, even better was Christopher Abbott in the role of the killer who embarks in a bromance of sorts with Bernthal's character, Abbott's portrayal carried an authentic threat and you really believed his character was capable of violence. Imogen Poots doesn't get as much screen-time as the two male leads but her character is perhaps the key to the whole story in that it is her decisions that set the wheels in motion and continue to propel the narrative into the abyss. It's a pretty satisfying film overall and will be of interest to those with a taste for American neo-noirs.

Unfulfilled Potential

[Megan_Shida · 6/10 · 28 December 2017]

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.

death hovers

[ferguson-6 · 6/10 · 14 November 2017]

Greetings again from the darkness. Murders-for-hire evidently have a better success rate in real life than in movies, because cinematically speaking, they usually result in quite the mess for all involved (and some who aren't). Fresh off the 2012 Black List for best unproduced scripts, the screenplay from twin brothers Benjamin China and Paul China offers up a neo-noir with a familiar enough premise in a not-so-familiar setting.

Director Jamie M Dagg offers little chance for us to settle in, as a violent and seemingly senseless triple murder occurs within the first few minutes. We get our Bang Bang, with the Kiss Kiss soon to follow. The usually friendly game of poker among friends goes south quickly thanks to Elwood (Christopher Abbott, IT COMES AT NIGHT), a stranger in town. We soon enough learn that he is in town on "business", and now that the job is done, he expects to be paid.

Elwood not-so-patiently awaits his pay day while staying at the Sweet Virginia Motor Motel. It's a simple inn inherited by, and now run by, Sam Rossi (Jon Bernthal) – a former rodeo star who these days battles multiple physical issues with pain dulled only by his morning weed ritual, and an ongoing affair with one of the ladies recently widowed by the Elwood's gun. Sam is shaggy looking, mellow and quite a pleasant fellow who seems like many in this quite small Alaska town … living here for the solitude and anonymity.

Imogen Poots plays Lila, and Rosemarie DeWitt plays Bernadette. Their unhappy marriages of 3 and 18 years respectively have ended abruptly, and while neither is much into grieving, they both have new problems with which to deal. There is an unusually scarce police presence given that a triple homicide of local citizens has just occurred, but the focus here is on the four main characters, and especially on the two men.

Elwood is exceedingly high-strung and prone to violent outbursts, while Sam is congenial to all, and generous with his time and advice to local high schooler and motel employee Maggie (Odessa Young). To ensure that no viewer is left behind, there is a diner scene that emphasizes the polar opposite personalities of Elwood and Sam. Rather than pack the intended punch, it mostly just comes across as obvious and unnecessary. And that in a nutshell, is what keeps the film from being a bit more intriguing.

While there is not a lot of excess talking, death hovers over most scenes and conversations. The connection between Sam and Elwood marks the sometimes easy bond of strangers, while the fractured marriages of Lila and Bernadette show how character flaws are unveiled over time. Jessica Lee Gagne's cinematography and the slow pacing to match the setting are both to be admired, but the film lacks any type of artistic or stylish differentiation, and relies solely on the fine performances of the cast. It's certainly no BLOOD SIMPLE or HELL OR HIGH WATER, but it's interesting enough to hold attention for 90 minutes … despite the mess being all cleaned up and tidy by the end.

I liked a lot about it but it doesn't quite work

[muamba_eats_toast · 6/10 · 21 April 2020]

The score of the film is great creates the perfect atmosphere, the performances of all the actors individually are very good and it's a very good but very short slow burn. Despite that when it all comes together the end result and overall story just doesn't feel worth it despite the majority of individual components working very well together it just came out a bit average. I doubt I'll remember having watched it in a few years time but it certainly wasn't bad. Just okay.

In a World Where Bad Things Happen...

[MongoLloyd · 2/10 · 17 November 2017]

... to regular people and sad music makes us cry...

Sorry, but no, it's just not enough. Did I care about the characters? No, why would I? There's little to no character development and they're just not terribly interesting or compelling in any way. Nebulous relationships, an insurance fraud scheme, a few assorted scumbags, a latent hero who somehow dispels his inner demons and emotional funk with a final heroic act in the end does not a great movie make.

Dark skies, dark interiors, dingy settings, dismal situations I understand are compelling to some, but it's just not enough.

What happened to the craft of screen writing?

Efficient Thriller

[truemythmedia · 6/10 · 14 June 2019]

Overall this isn't a bad a movie; it's good, but not great. It's certainly worth the hour and a half you'd spend watching it. Cool ideas and themes, some gripping action, and some decent performances (for the most part) make this film passable. It may be predictable, but it sure isn't boring.

Too dark - literally.

[mrvanin · 4/10 · 9 July 2018]

The problem that eclipses everything else in this film is the horrible lighting - an overdone effect. I understand - and appreciate - the unnatural darkness that some directors like to use to set the theme. But in this film, the consequences are very negative.

The worst part was where the antagonist and an arbitrary hired helper break in to a house to steal money. The actions that follow between these two individuals and the occupant of the house were impossible for me to discern and could only be guessed at from subsequent developments. This spoiled the film completely for me, as I regard it as a crucial event.

Other than that fatal flaw, the rest of the story earns an "okay enough" rating from me. Everything else that happened in the dark was simply dialogue (or sex), so no further guessing was required. Nothing special developed, Berenthal delivers one surprise in the result in an altercation with a motel guest but everything else proceeds entirely predictably. Predictability is not always a bad thing and I'm sure that many viewers will be satisfied with the outcome.

Incidentally, the "relationship" between the protagonist and antagonist, as described in the summary and a few reviews, is completely exaggerated. The superficial representation of a couple of brief interactions between these two makes this alleged relationship of very little importance in the story.

Still, the cast did very well with the material they were given, so no fault of theirs - and they deserve full credit for saving the director from abject failure.

An indie thriller

[elliotjeory · 7/10 · 3 December 2018]

Sweet Virginia is a low budget indie film. The pace is slow but the film is well made and well acted. Characters should of been developed more but otherwise a good film.

Slow but kept my interest until the end

[alyssafflovex · 4/10 · 8 October 2018]

I was enjoying this movie until the abrupt, unclimactic, uncreative end. So maddening! My fiance and i sat here for like 5 minutes afterwards coming up with different endings that would have been better...did the writer just give up? Was he bored too? Ugh.

Broken Promises

[kosmasp · 7/10 · 19 December 2018]

When Crime goes wrong could be a different title. This movie is not flashy though. There is violence, there is quite a lot of Drama, but I guess some might think there is a lot more to this or rather, there could be a lot more to this. It's still quite low and slow and far from out there.

The pacing fits the acting and the overall storytelling. If you let yourself into that mood you will watch a movie that is worth it. If it is not your cup of tea, you will be annoyed and maybe even bored. As some reviews have shown here. It is like this with (almost) every movie. Love it or hate it, the quality is there and the story arc holds up

Decent film excellent acting, low budget action drama but decent.

[joiningjt · 6/10 · 11 July 2021]

Nothing great but worth watching once the actors are all excellent and the story is good to very good. I like where they filmed it nice small town America feel to it, as well as all the characters they have that rural America feel to them. Different for the actor from walking dead he was the star of the movie the villian was excellent as well. Like I said it's worth a watch.

Bit boring really

[shielsyuk · 19 October 2018]

Steady movie.. good acting.. but it's all a bit slow and dull really.. yes there's moments of action and violence, but it just never really delivers..

What goes around comes around.

[nogodnomasters · 6/10 · 26 November 2017]

A man (Christopher Abbott) walks into a bar and says. "I'll have the early bird special." The bartender says, "We're closed." So we know who the killer is as the film switches to Sam (Jon Bernthal) a retired rodeo rider and motel manager, the place where the killer stays.

The rodeo thing didn't tie back into the script. Normally when you introduce something like that, it should tie back in. The film is a slow burn without an over whelming climax. Filmed in Canada, the location was supposed to be a small community near Roanoke, Virginia. Acting was fine, drama a little slow.

Guide: F-word. Sex. partial nudity.

Solid slow burner

[radhrh · 7/10 · 23 December 2021]

In a cinematic world of generic superhero movies and cardboard franchise bollocks one should be grateful that someone is still making solid dramatic work.

For an audience used to a huge CGI action sequence ever 15 minutes Sweet Virginia might seem laboured but the quiet time is spent building three dimensional real world characters. It's also slowly building tension until the Chekhov's gun moment.

Great performances all round, solid direction, moody cinematography and terse script. My only criticisms are it's a little too dark, the dialogue is often inaudible and maybe a few notes of dark humour wouldn't go amiss. But still well worth 90 minutes of your time.

Speaks up! And where's the lighting?

[joey_isham · 3/10 · 2 February 2020]

Dark movie. Literally. Even during the daytime, it's dark. Lost track of which characters were doing what because it was so dark. And also, speak up!!! Right from the beginning, I could not hear what these actors were saying. And some scenes that should've been done in a quick 30 seconds or one minute tops took 2 or 3 minutes long.

A Dark and Compelling Film

[tkdlifemagazine · 7/10 · 28 August 2021]

This is a dark movie about "for hire" killing gone bad. It has a visual style that matches it's dark, dreary town somewhere in Alaska. Imogen Potts is no stranger to dark films, having co-starred In The Art of Self-Defense, and she is good in this one as the catalyst for the plot. Jon Bernthal is amazingly natural and compelling in the role of the retired rodeo star that takes up managing his deceased brother's hotel. Christopher Abbott is good as the psychotic man whose life is interwoven into this story. Regardless, I can't help but think that he is the weakest link here. The film has some riveting and surprising moments event though it is slowly paced. The characters are very human and flawed. This is worth watching.

Mumble Mumble

[billcr12 · 3/10 · 28 November 2017]

If you watch this film, be sure to have subtitles available because the actors constantly mumble their lines. It is beyond annoying. Jon Berenthal sleepwalks as if sedated with a massive dose of thorazine. The rest of the cast seem a little bit less asleep. The story is not all that interesting and in the end I just did not care in the least what happened to anyone in the movie. The only saving grace is the short ninety minute running time. I can usually stick with crime stories that have a sense of humor. Sweet Virginia has no wit or wisdom within the script. There is no reason whatsoever to watch this snooze fest.

Hidden Gem!

[ajith-v-m · 9/10 · 22 November 2017]

This movie sure was well worth my time. A decent thriller drama, the villain in this movie did an exemplary performance, certainly award winning.

If you like slow burn thrillers that gets into your skin and makes you want to guess the next scene, this is for you.

Weird but Good.

[RobTortureWright · 7/10 · 5 June 2020]

Definitely one of the more unusual stories I've seen in awhile but it works in some areas, in others it's lacking. For example the actors do a great job at holding the script together specifically Jon Bernthal who has been a standout actor since his Walking Dead days. The story started slow but developed into what you thought was going to be predictable one where the guy who seems to love killing people was going to go and rob the older woman and kill her and Jon. The robbing came true but the woman never died and this lead to the final scene where Jon shoots him with his father's old German rifle. Not the most entertaining of stories but what stood out to me were the scenes with Jon and the young girl who worked at the motel. The way he treated her like his own daughter after losing a child and how her father wasn't there for her played out well. These were the best scenes but the rest done fairly well at holding the story together and setting out how one woman's urge to kill her husband would lead to 6 people dying.

Weak ending

[danielcereto · 4/10 · 8 September 2020]

The cast is good, the settings are correct and even cinematography. But what is a great downgrade here is the non original script. You know what is going to happen. Pretty predictable. But the worst is the ending. Just embarrassing. Are you serious? So, overall pretty unrealistic movie. A wasted opportunity because of the great cast.

This could have been a short film...

[isaiahlj · 3 January 2020]

I was relatively interested in the characters while watching this. However, because of the lack of development for most people in the movie it became very difficult to care about anyone. Even the "main" protagonist in this movie shares enough screen time as the antagonist which makes it hard to care about him because there isn't enough time to flesh him out. There are a lot of things that could have been cut out from this movie and nothing would have changed. This could have been a short film.

A sluggish film.

[djrmc24 · 6/10 · 4 December 2023]

Sweet Virginia had a lot going for it. A strong cast with a compelling story. Only problem is the pacing of this film is very off and also has a disappointing ending. Jon Bernthal does all that he can do to try and save this film with his acting chops but he falls short of the mark. I get it that this film is trying to be like a Noir type of crime thriller but the pacing throws everything out of whack. Director Jamie M. Dagg has some very interesting characters on screen that I really wish we could have dove more into the depths of but sadly we don't. If a slow burning Noir film is your type then you might really enjoy this one. For me it was really on the more boring side with not alot happening not until 2/3 of the way into the movie. Sweet Virginia gets a mild 6 stars out of 10 from me.