(USA, 116 min.)
Written and directed by Dustin Lance Black
Starring: Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris,
Harrison Gilbertson, Emma Roberts, Amy Madigan, Toby Jones,
Yeardley Smith.
What’s wrong with Virginia? I’m tempted to say “everything.” Virginia, the schizophrenic directorial effort by Dustin Lance Black
(screenwriter of Milk) is a shrill,
gaudy, mess of a movie that doesn’t know what to do with some potentially
strong material.
Jennifer Connelly gives a brave performance in the title
role Virginia, a white trash woman who lives in the heart of Mormon country
with her bastard son and a case of schizophrenia. Connelly seems capable of
taking the viewer to new depths with her portrayal of her character’s condition,
but it seems like Virginia belongs in a different movie. There is the potential
for a dark satire on the hypocrisy of the religious right, as Virginia’s
madness is precipitated by complications in her twenty-year affair with the town
sheriff (Ed Harris), who breaks things off when he decides to run for higher
office.
Virginia starts to think that she is pregnant with his baby
– there are rumours that her first son, Emmett (Harrison Gilbertson), may also
be Sheriff Tipton’s baby – so she makes herself a baby bump out of some dirty
laundry and spreads word about her baby daddy around town. She also quits her
job, dons a gorilla mask, and tries to rob a bank. All sorts of crazy stuff
happens in Virginia (there’s even some
S&M with the Mormons), but it’s hard to digest all the madcap foolishness
that Black creates.
Is this film a drama or a comedy? Is Virginia the butt of
the joke or the one laughing? Too often does it seem as if Virginia’s mental
illness is played for laughs, and any attempt to understand her condition feels
forced.
The bipolar tone of the movie isn’t helped by its awkward
pace and a handful of strange performances, although Amy Madigan offers a good
supporting as Tipton’s straight-laced wife. Virginia
also shifts from bright lights and flashy colours to ugly, dimly lit
compositions. The odd look and tenor don’t help much in deciphering the
wackiness of the story.
There is probably a good movie lying somewhere under the
surface of Virginia, but it’s hard to
find it amidst the disorder on screen. Black certainly shows ambition in
realizing the words of his scripts and his attempt to give time to marginal
characters is certainly appreciable. Virginia
might just get back on her meds before things start to make sense.
Rating: ★½ (out of ★★★★★)
Virginia plays in Ottawa at The Mayfair (Bank) on Saturday, Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday of this week. It then heads
to home video on August 21.
*Photos courtesy eOne films.
