It's a classic case of a little becoming a lot onscreen on the basis of boasting dark atmosphere, eerie score and superb performances. So much to like about Sweet Virginia. Christopher Abbott essentially has two modes: Intense, and way more intense. Lost track of which characters were doing what because it was so dark. Ugh. there's not much happening here that you haven't seen before, but this is one of those movies that adheres to the fact that filmmaking has a hard time re-inventing the wheel again and again, and just sticks with its homage to the genre. Elwood chases Sam into an occupied motel room, shooting the tenant in the process. A former rodeo champ befriends a young man with a propensity for violence.A former rodeo champ befriends a young man with a propensity for violence.A former rodeo champ befriends a young man with a propensity for violence. It may be predictable, but it sure isn't boring. Elwood, who was injured in the struggle with Bernadette, tries sneaking out the next morning but is stopped by Sam who merely wants to say goodbye. Just so you know what you're getting into, Sweet Virginia isn't too sweet. Lila tells the man she wanted Mitchell dead because he'd been unfaithful. The problem that eclipses everything else in this film is the horrible lighting - an overdone effect. We all act crazy, I guess. I can usually stick with crime stories that have a sense of humor. Sweet Virginia Release date: April 21, 2017 Country: Canada, Sweet Virginia is a 2017 Canada-English language movie, directed by Jamie M. Dagg and written by Paul China (as The China Brothers), Benjamin China (as The China Brothers). Nice movie. A former rodeo champ befriends a young man with a propensity for violence. If you are a Home delivery print subscriber, unlimited online access is. I'd rate it 8.5/10. At the motel the manager was having an affair with one of the victims. The scene where Sam was beat up by the hotel guest was disturbing, I thought he'd lay down the law. it holds a lot of power over me like its scary. Literally: Nighttime seems endless in this film, either shot at twilight or during the witching hour, the perfect environment for Elwood, a hitman with the single-minded intensity of a Travis Bickle or an Anton Chigurh, who sits in his room at a sprawling motel like a dormant volcano (and the viewers are the only geologists in town). Even though the sense of menace grows so oppressive at times, you can hardly breathe for minutes on end, its the characters ever-evolving inner mechanics that fuel our engagement. A little after that, a lawyer says to Lila, Were you aware of your husbands financial difficulties and this wannabe Phyllis Dietrichsons eyes go all wide and she practically mouths the word Ooops.. He extends his stay at the motel and begins giving Sam praise as a famous bull rider. Just okay. time, she confesses to not having cried and her husbands murder doesnt impede It is currently seeking U.S. distribution. This movie is not flashy though. The bank now owns her home and there is no money. 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). point: a scene in which Lila is driving across town when she suspects shes As translated to screen by director Jamie M. Dagg (whose sure hand and smart changes elevate things considerably), Benjamin and Paul Chinas script yields one of the gnarliest and most unsettling movies were likely to get this year. There needs to be more films with this depth and uncertainty, playing out like a Coen Bros classic but being its own is no easy feat. We want to hear what you have to say but need to verify your email. The two are tortured souls who are destined towards reckoning. All rights reserved. husband. However, Sam notices that Elwood is bleeding and realizes he is the one who robbed Bernadette. He subdues and nearly shoots Bernadette when he notices Sam's hat on the counter. Its central performance, by Abbott, is a harrowing, embarrassing adventure in mannerisms. gives a creepy performance. And the women who hire them. Film data from TMDb. As she Sweet Virginia Trailer #1 (2017): Check out the new TV spot starring Jon Bernthal, Christopher Abbott, and Imogen Poots! The website's consensus reads, "Smart and well-acted, Sweet Virginia delivers a tense, atmospheric thriller that transcends genre conventions even as it embraces them. And some scenes that should've been done in a quick 30 seconds or one minute tops took 2 or 3 minutes long. When Mitchell tells him to leave because the bar is closed, the man threatens him and angrily leaves. Hes a damaged-goods drifter catering to other drifters, running in place from some heartbreak he cant quite forget. Theres loss in every prop decorating his home and work, as opposed to the blank living quarters of the hitman. That one even gets its own dream sequence, but ultimately adds no more to the story than does the scenic mountain backdrop. The movie is a beautifully photographed, moody story that favors style over substance. And who is this monster, who brings violence to a community that needs guns only for hunting, changing the entire dynamic of a town so small that everyone (believes he) knows everyones business already? No doubt from a great story and script ,but the ,,,I guess casting choices. Id rather watch Double Indemnity for the 15th time. for violence, some strong sexuality, language, and drug use. Coming Soon. Just so you know what youre getting into, Sweet Virginia isnt too sweet. Their humanity, along with Bernthals, puts the alien strangeness of Abbotts performance into stark relief. Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Sam seems puzzled when Elwood tells him about his mother's death and how his father was absent due to incarceration. This 10-digit number is your confirmation number. A decent thriller drama, the villain in this movie did an exemplary performance, certainly award winning. neo-noir thriller was located in the Appalachian Mountains; however, when The photos,pace,characters,locations. Bernadette, ignoring Sam's earlier wish, wakes Sam in the middle of the night for sex to which he obliges. Contact Lori, VFO Locations Manager, with the particulars of your shoot. The acting is superb and cinematography is profoundly impressive. Your AMC Ticket Confirmation# can be found in your order confirmation email. Literally. headlights of a car that appears to be tracking her. Dark movie. After a phone call with his mother, Elwood becomes enraged and instigates a fight with two men. A former rodeo star, now a motel manager, meets a young man who is responsible for the violence that suddenly has seized his small town. When Lila enters the diner after riding with Bernadette to get milkshakes, Sam calls her over to the table and introduces her to Elwood. during Sweet Virginia that keep the Sweet Virginia was written by brothers Paul and Benjamin China, and landed on the 2012 Black List, a roster of promising, unproduced screenplays that has since given us movies great (Arrival, Whiplash) and merely so-so (Draft Day, The Judge). He tells Sam that his father was a huge fan of Sam and would have loved to meet him but he's now deceased. As for Elwood (okay Ill stop), we learn early on that he was hired by another local wife, Lila, who hated her husband and wanted him dead so she could collect his money WITH WHICH, and heres the rub, she was going to pay Elwood, and then do other things. "Rock 'N' Roll Hotel" originally was filmed in state-of-the-art 3-D. Sam befriends Elwood, and they go to a local diner where Sam talks about his health and why he shakes. IMDb After the death of their father, two sisters and their mother come together for a week of tears, laughter, and adventure at the lake where they grew up. At one Imogen Poots and Rosemarie DeWitt play widows of those murdered by Elwood, both seeking comfort, and the mysterious ways theyre tied into the plot speak depths about levels of emotional desperation in a small town and the mistakes and panic it can bring. Fargo. By what name was Sweet Virginia (2017) officially released in India in English? Regal 2017 Drama, Mystery/Crime, Suspense Feature Film. I rarely write reviews but came on here as I was shocked at the low scores. Read critic reviews. He asks about his payment, and Lila tells him she will have it by the end of the week after she meets with Mitchell's lawyer. 2017 95 min R Independent, Drama, Mystery/Crime, Suspense Feature Film. Coming Soon, Regal The movie is dictated by Lila (Imogen Poots) hiring Elwood (Christopher Abbott) to murder her husband, which he ended up killing two more people. Sweet Virginia is a tense small town noir. Its like the City Planner of this place knew not even daylight could save its inhabitants, and so mapped out a metropolis made of dark corners, shadowy halls, long driveways and windows that could reveal a frightening figure at any time. We want them to survive, of course, but mostly, we want to understand them. Coming Soon. It was Daggs idea to relocate the movie to Alaska, though he kept the title, turning it into the element that Abbott and Bernthals characters have in common, allowing them to bond where otherwise each would probably keep to himself: Both have roots in Virginia, but have run off to Alaska for their own reasons. thing surprising about Elwood is that hes accepting money for something he A bloody good little thriller. When theyre not hanging out, we see Elwood cleaning his gun, exercising, picking fights and having emotionless sex with a prostitute. Un Jardin a Cythere is inspired by the Greek island of Kythira. A surprising late in the year gem reminiscent of Jeremy Saulnier. 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. And yet, going deep is what makes Sweet Virginia great heck, more than great. A wasted opportunity because of the great cast. Plot [ edit] The film doesn't have much of a point, as its characters are reductive variables in an inevitable equation of carnage. Greetings again from the darkness. Stay up-to-date on all the latest Rotten Tomatoes news! The best music, movies, TV, books, comedy and more. neo-noir slow burner that is exquisitely filmed, offering you a fine score underlining appropriately . One of those movies where the trailer looks so promising but then you are so disappointed when you watch the whole movie. Sweet Virginia (2017) Full Cast & Crew See agents for this cast & crew on IMDbPro Directed by Jamie M. Dagg Writing Credits Cast (in credits order) Produced by Music by Brooke Blair Will Blair Cinematography by Jessica Lee Gagn Film Editing by Duff Smith Casting By Production Design by Danny Vermette Art Direction by Justin Ludwig railroad crossing, the gates come down and a train impedes her progress. After calling Lila and leaving her a threatening voicemail, he violently beats the two men before leaving. He kills them. Direction 7/10 (Jamie Dagg made a good dark Neo-Noir/Neo Western thriller) Sam knocks on the door and begins fighting with the tenant. We know what were supposed to be feelingand so we wait, armrests gripped tight. Then, as she approaches a A big pile of nothingness. All Rights Reserved. Abbott has been garnering a lot of interest since The Sinner and he is the unpredictable bad guy here, he never wastes a single scene. Played out in an unidentified locale (although the titular motel scenes were shot in Hope, British Columbia), Sweet Virginia is set in an undefined earlier time frame than the present, one where simple folks never locked their doors, even with a killer lurking in their midst. In his 1956 essay On A Book Entitled Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov recounts both the imaginative origins of his groundbreaking novel and the difficulty he had finding a publisher for it in the United States. Take this bit of diner conversation between Sam, a onetime rodeo champ played by Jon Bernthal, and Elwood (no really), a contract killer played by Christopher Abbott. "Sweet Virginia" is an uncommonly dark movie. "[6], "Sweet Virginia Review: Christopher Abbott Shines In A Gritty Neo-Noir", "IFC Films Acquires Tribeca Thriller 'Sweet Virginia', "The Punisher's Jon Bernthal stars in Sweet Virginia trailer", "Directors Guild of Canada reveals long list for Discovery Award", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sweet_Virginia_(film)&oldid=1131684026, This page was last edited on 5 January 2023, at 08:00. The motels owner, an ex-rodeo star named Sam (Jon Bernthal), is a burly, bearded cowboy with a limp and early-onset Parkinsons. Pros: He walks out of the bar. A "multi-function" face cream from the French brand Clarins that addresses skin concerns such as radiance, firmness and plumpness. Klassisches Sonntags-Couchkino. [4] For directing, Dagg was nominated for the Directors Guild of Canada's DGC Discovery Award. Jon Bernthal, Marvels The Production: Automatik Entertainment / XYZ Films / Oddfellows Entertainment / Exhibit Entertainment /. Mitchell's killer later approaches Sam at the motel and introduces himself as Elwood. Given its far-north location, Alaska is known for having extraordinarily long nights at certain times of year, and yet, that isn't the case here. Rosemary DeWitts Bernadette, however, is the opposite. Their filming locations were top-notch. Too tough-looking for his own good, Sam attracts Elwoods attention as he patronizes Sams business, waiting for a payment for the hit that will never come. A woman is bent over and a man is seen thrusting her. We encountered an issue signing you up. jon bernthals nose. Even by day, the shadows seem to have shadows, as Canadian cinematographer Jessica Gagn creates a world of such murky moral contradictions, you have to squint at times to make out the shape-shifting personalities that lurk within. character moments and tense, atmospheric filmmaking. Director Jamie M. Dagg Writers Paul China Benjamin China Stars Jon Bernthal Christopher Abbott Imogen Poots See production, box office & company info Watch on AMC+ with Prime Video Channels More watch options Add to Watchlist 101 User reviews 69 Critic reviews 72 Metascore Elwood takes the money from the safe and leaves. Marvel Movies Ranked Worst to Best by Tomatometer, Jurassic Park Movies Ranked By Tomatometer, The Mandalorian Season 3 Premiere Features Sad Bo-Katan, a Bad Baby, and a Pirate Problem, The 5 Most Anticipated Movies of March 2023. Summaries. The villian is really the one you least expect and sympathy is garnered for the obvious ones. I was impressed with Jon Bernthal's blunt emotional performance as well as Christopher Abbot's take on playing a psychopath with a conscience. murder. With his dead eyes and awkward mannerisms, the only Just below that it reads "Ticket Confirmation#:" followed by a 10-digit number. They set up the characters really well. [3] The film was released on November 17, 2017, by IFC Films. Sweet Virginia is a tense small town noir. Sweet Virginia would clearly like to stake out some territory on the dark dramatic edges of the cinematic map, but ends up a little lost. Elwood attempts to get in his car to flee, but Sam shoots and kills him. ex-rodeo star Sam (Jon Bernthal) hails. This is one of those movies concocted by people whove seen too many movies; whose experience of violence and crime derives entirely from movies; whose main motivation is derived from some desire to emulate a mode of cool that they learned from Coen Brothers and Tarantino movies, and which they think theyve made less overtly derivative by leavening with ideas from even older movies. Bernadette (Rosemarie DeWitt) loses her husband of 18 years in the melee, and turns to local motel manager Sam (Jon Bernthal) for solace. Filming Dates. The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 21, 2017. But what is a great downgrade here is the non original script. Review: Sweet Virginia. As When she confronts Elwood after the killing, she tells him You were only supposed to blow the bloody doors off, I mean, he was only supposed to kill the one guy, and he explains to her how killing three guys made total sense because it made the whole thing look so random. room at the motel and befriends Sam, whom he recognizes from his rodeo days. 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. One rejection suggested that Nabokov recast the novels action in short, strong, realistic sentences; Nabokovs imagined examples still stand as hilarious, sterling examples of what I like to call cornpone clich: He acts crazy. Satisfied, he leaves and meets with Paul to enlist his services to do a job to which Paul agrees. film noir, femme fatale, 1940s, thriller or intriguing, cops, murder, thriller, detective or crime, gangster, crime, criminal, violence or ruthless. I didn't know the killer ,but he is excellent. Full Cast and Crew | Release Dates | Official Sites | Company Credits | Technical Specs. It's a classic case of a little becoming a lot onscreen on the basis of boasting dark atmosphere, eerie score and superb performances. Und Jon Bernthal ist als Ex-Rodeo-Cowboy souvern schweigsam, aber auch erfrischend unhart. 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. Killer Joe. boring characters except for elwood (1 viewing). All that said, the movie is well put together, enough so that if youre not entirely tired of its clichs, it might constitute a tolerable entertainment. With a svelte running time of about 90 minutes, this movie hits the sweet spot. Please reference Error Code 2121 when contacting customer service. Sweet Virginia is a 2017 neo-noir thriller film directed by Jamie M. Dagg, written by Benjamin China and Paul China, and starring Jon Bernthal, Christopher Abbott, Imogen Poots, Rosemarie DeWitt, Odessa Young and Jared Abrahamson. Ditto the secondary plot points, such as Sams history as a former rodeo rider. Meanwhile, the central theme of murder and its aftermath is interesting for as far as it goes, but thats not enough to carry the picture home. In the rearview mirror, we see the We linger on dread throughout Sweet Virginia, externalizing a movie whose strengths are all internal. The former Girls star, whose blooming career is still often seen as a response to his brief time on (and tumultuous exit from) that epochal HBO show, has spent the last few years playing one brooding knuckle-dragger after another, like hes trying to rid himself of whatever cooties Lena Dunham may have left behind. Like any good noir, all comes down to desire and absurd nihilism. Mystery/Crime, Suspense Feature film minutes long Confirmation # can be found in your Confirmation. Drug use photographed, moody story that favors style over substance her where was sweet virginia filmed murder doesnt impede is. Been unfaithful, Mystery/Crime, Suspense Feature film loss in every prop decorating his and. Viewing ) home and work, as opposed to the story than does the scenic mountain.... 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