Top Gun: Maverick (2022) - Magnificent; a soaring vehicle

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The world's greatest movie star is ready to deliver something rare and special on this excitement-building poster for Joseph Kosinski's Top Gun: Maverick

Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell hasn't progressed from being a navy captain, because he belongs in fast airplanes and not behind a desk. Because he is still an extraordinary capacity, he is now tasked with heading a team of young Top Gun pilots on a dangerous mission of great importance.

 

Top Gun: Maverick is written by Ehren Kruger (Scream 3 (2000)), Eric Warren Singer (The International (2009)) and Christopher McQuarrie (Valkyrie (2008)), with Peter Craig (12 Strong (2018)) and Justin Marks (The Jungle Book (2016)) contributing story elements, and directed by Iowan master filmmaker Joseph Kosinski (TRON: Legacy (2010)), whose 4th feature it is. It is the long-awaited sequel to Tony Scott's Top Gun (1986).

Personally I had not long awaited Top Gun: Maverick, because Top Gun never was a cornerstone film for me, although it is admittedly a great watch. (My early Tom Cruise (Legend (1985)) favorite is Cocktail (1988).) But that doesn't hinder Maverick, which has been in the can and ready to release since June 2020, but has been pushed out until now by the China Virus pandemic - and Cruise's insistence that it should have a wide theatrical release.

That certainly makes sense, when you see it on a big screen, because huge, thrilling flying pictures are simply best seen on a big screen, with all the might of modern sound technology backing up the extraordinary flying scenes.

Top Gun: Maverick will bring goosebumps to many (especially male) audiences just seconds into beginning, just at the sight of the 'Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films' credit, set in that old-timey font, to some very recognizable tones, given a terrific new spin. Yes, this is a nostalgia trip, - and that's wonderful. It's also a rare breed of circus animal star vehicle with its share of cheesy moments. But that's as it should be when the film is Top Gun: Maverick. - Most importantly, the film works on all levels:

Cruise is arguably doing some of the best work of his career these years, - in Mission: Impossible films that continue to top each other, and now in Maverick. He is on fire here, and you sense the raw willpower and awesome ambition that lies behind this strong action drama. He has allied himself with some very reliable supporting actors in Ed Harris (Touching Home (2008)), Miles Teller (Get a Job (2016)) and Jennifer Connelly (Ballet (1989)). Teller works great as Rooster, whose father's demise in Top Gun is the source of the dramatic conflict between him and mentor/substitute father figure Maverick here. And Connelly is a very classy, sexy and graceful lady - who has great chemistry with Cruise. Val Kilmer (Standing Up (2013)) makes a powerful appearance as Iceman, who has now become an ailing US admiral. There's a strong team of young bucks (and one cool young woman) on the team of young pilots, each of them looking sharper than the previous one, and giving Cruise, Connelly and Teller competition. The very macho and ambition-driven film looks great from all angles. - But perhaps the supporting actor here who is most wonderful is Jon Hamm (Million Dollar Arm (2014)) as the vice admiral directly responsible for overseeing Maverick's teaching: Hamm's face puckers in so many priceless ways here, as he offers opposition to Cruise's predictable wildness as the man who wants his pilots to complete the dangerous mission - and get back in one piece.

Top Gun: Maverick has warmth, fun, romance - and suspense that jolts you back in your seat and make you grab the armrests, as you sense the G powers ripping through your body, (or rather, those on screen.) It is better than a wild roller coaster. Stupendous shots follow each other as pearls on a string, and you'll be right to bet that a lot of people worked tremendously hard to put this all together on screen. (The cinematography by Claudio Miranda (Life of Pi (2012)) is a blast.) The score, - by Lorne Balfe (Songbird (2020)), Harold Faltermeyer (Fletch Lives (1989)), Lady Gaga - in her first composing credit, singing the film's solid hit Hold My Hand, - and Hans Zimmer (Chappie (2015)), - is a wonderful, strong sound carpet for the film.

Top Gun: Maverick is a blast from the past, in strapping new threads, with top-charged talents in every department. An irresistible ode to brotherhood, teamwork, love, hard work, discipline, America and - more than anything - human excellence. Top Gun: Maverick will likely show to be impossible for Cruise to top in the years to come - and for others, for that matter. It is a pure, high-flying, inspirational masterpiece.

Related posts:

 

Joseph Kosinski: 2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III] 

2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]

2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 

Tron: Legacy (2010) - Feast your eyes on Garrett Hedlund in dazzling sci-fi sequel 

 

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 170 mil. $

Box office: 887.5 mil. $ and counting

= Big hit (has returned 5.22 times its cost to date)

[Top Gun: Maverick premiered 18 May (Cannes Film Festival, out of competition) and runs 131 minutes. Cruise in 1990 called a Top Gun sequel 'irresponsible'. But the sequel was gathering momentum 20 years later, until director Tony Scott's suicide in 2012. The project changed hands, and Kosinski was hired to direct instead. Cruise was paid 13 mil. $ and an undisclosed back-end percentage for his work on the film. Shooting took place from September 2018 - July 2019 in California, including San Diego, Nevada and Washington. China's Tencent production company were delivering 12.5 % of the film's budget but then pulled out over fears that it would anger the Chinese Communist Party. The release was pushed from Summer 2019 to Summer 2020 over difficult action scenes that needed a re-shoot, but then due to the China Virus pandemic, the release was pushed out another 2 years, while offers from streaming services were shot down by Cruise and co. in favor of a traditional, big theatrical release. The film opened #1 to a 126.7 mil. $ first weekend in North America, the biggest opening of Cruise's career by far. It has spent another weekend at #1, and then continues to be in the top 5 with a #2 and #3 weekend currently, and a 466.1 mil. $ still-ticking domestic gross. It is the 2nd highest-grossing film of the year so far, behind Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and does not have a Chinese release green-lit by the country's ever-restrictive Communist Party rule. IMDb's users have rated the film in at the site's Top 250 at #43, sitting between Casablanca (1942) and Whiplash (2014). Kosinski returns with Spiderhead (2022, VoD). Cruise returns in Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning - Part 1 (2023). Top Gun: Maverick is certified fresh at 97 % with an 8.20/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of Top Gun: Maverick?

House of Sand and Fog (2003) or, The Erroneous Eviction Blues

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Two great dramatic star actors look stern on this foreboding and mysterious poster for Vadim Perelman's House of Sand and Fog

A divorced woman mistakenly has her home auctioned off to an Iranian refugee family, who hope to sell it on with a profit.

 

House of Sand and Fog is written by Shawn Lawrence Otto and co-writer/co-producer/director, debuting Vadim Perelman (The Missing (2021, miniseries)), adapting the same-titled 1999 novel by Andre Dubus III (Bluesman (1993)).

The unfortunate affair becomes complicated - and tragic. House of Sand and Fog is like a Greek tragedy, wherein the involved fates become unhappier scene by scene. It is a commendably assembled, respectable drama, although what it finally is supposed to tell us I am not sure. In this respect the characters', - and to some degree the audiences', - sufferings may feel somewhat pointless.

Jennifer Connelly (Mulholland Falls (1996)) is frightening as a woman in free fall (again), and Ben Kingsley (Sexy Beast (2000)) gives a bravado performance, which makes the Iranian ex-colonel that he portrays both human and sympathetic, SPOILER as well as, in the film's climax, devastating. Shohreh Aghdashloo (Silk (2013, short)) as his wife and Jonathan Ahdout (American Gun (2005)) as his son are also outstanding.

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 16.5 mil. $

Box office: 16.7 mil. $

= Huge flop (returned 1.01 times its cost)

[House of Sand and Fog was released 19 December (USA) and runs 124 minutes. Shooting took place around October 2002 in California, including in Los Angeles and San Francisco. The film opened #43 to a 45k $ first weekend in 2 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #13 and in 598 theaters (different weeks), grossing 13 mil. $ (77.8 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Italy with 753k $ (4.5 %) and Australia with 721k $ (4.3 %). The film was nominated for 3 Oscars, winning none. It lost Best Actor (Kingsley) to Sean Penn in Mystic River, Supporting Actress (Aghdashloo) to Renée Zellweger in Cold Mountain, and Score (James Horner (Iris (2001))) to Howard Shore for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. It also won 1/3 Independent Spirit awards, was nominated for a Golden Globe and won 2 National Board of Review awards, among many other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 4/4 star review, translating to 2 notches over this one. Perelman returned with Kelly Clarkson: Because of You (2005, music video) and theatrically with The Life Before Her Eyes (2007). Connelly returned in Dark Water (2005); Kingsley in Thunderbirds (2004). House of Sand and Fog is certified fresh at 74 % with a 7.10/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of House of Sand and Fog?

Hulk (2003) - Lee's fantastic comics adaptation drama

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+ Best San Francisco Movie of the Year + Best Superhero Movie of the Year + Most Expensive Flop of the Year: 38.92 mil. $ range

 

The green giant dominates this poster for Ang Lee's Hulk

Bruce Banner is a scientist who in a failed experiment is exposed to gamma radiation, which triggers a latent mutant gene in his body, put there by his crazed scientist father, so that the result is mad green giant persona the Hulk!

 

Hulk is written by John Turman (Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)), Michael France (The Punisher (2004)) and James Schamus (Pushing Hands/Tui shou (1991)), based on the Hulk comics (1962-) created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, and directed by Taiwanese master filmmaker Ang Lee (Pushing Hands).

Lee makes an ambitious leap with Hulk, one of the most memorable of the modern superhero movies. Banner/Hulk is no conventional hero; rather a tragic hero if a hero at all. Lee thematizes the rage through several characters, - at least four, - and has success with a comics-inspired editing scheme, using split screen, among other things, as well as an impressive fusion of CGI and practical special effects.

The good performances from Eric Bana (Eric (1997, TV-series)) and Nick Nolte (Teachers (1984)) culminate in a father-son fight in the end, which underscores the film's drama, which is of Shakespearean heights. Hulk is ravishing entertainment.

 

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Ang Lee: 2012 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED V]

2012 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED IV]  
2012 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III] 
Top 10: The best big hit movies reviewed by Film Excess to date   

2012 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II] 
Life of Pi (2012) - Lee's triumphant, stunning faith-builder 

Top 10: Best erotic movies reviewed by Film Excess to date 

The 2000s in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess
2007 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2007 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 

Lust, Caution/色，戒/Sè, Jiè/Sik1Gaai3 (2007) - Lee's erotic spy thriller is an exquisite, complex masterpiece 

2005 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 
Brokeback Mountain (2005) or, That Place That Weren't Possible  

2003 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II] 

 

Watch a short trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 137 mil. $

Box office: 245.2 mil. $ 

=  Big flop (returned 1.78 times its cost)

[Hulk premiered 17 June (USA) and runs 138 minutes. Development of the film began in 1990. In 1998 Universal Pictures put the film in hiatus with reportedly 20 mil. $ already spent on numerous scripts as well as computer animation and prosthetics work. Jennifer Connelly (Little Children (2006)) was paid 1.5 mil. $ for her performance. Shooting took place from March - August 2002 in Utah, Arizona, California, including in San Francisco, and in Hawaii. 2.1 mil. $ were spent on a 30 second TV ad during the Super Bowl. The film opened #1 to a 62.1 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another 2 weekends in the top 5 (#2-#5) and grossed 132.1 mil. $ (53.9 % of the total gross.) The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 13.9 mil. $ (5.7 %) and Mexico with 11.6 mil. $ (4.7 %). Roger Ebert gave the film a 3/4 star review, equal in rating to this one. It earned an additional 61.2 mil. $ in DVD sales in 2003 in North America. Sequel plans were snuffed out due to the film's disappointing performance; a reboot was instead made with The Incredible Hulk (2008). Lee returned with The Hire (2003, segment) and theatrically with Brokeback Mountain (2005). Bana returned in Troy (2004). Hulk is fresh at 62 % with a 6.20/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Hulk?

Little Children (2006) - Field's second film is a great, scathing adaptation about middle class suburbanites

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+ Best Feel-Bad Movie of the Year

Intense darkness and the naked bodies of two of the film's stars, with a drop of sweat on Patrick Wilson's torso, indicates both something dark and sensual on this poster for Todd Field's Little Children

A pent-up, unhappy housewife has an affair with the prom king of her high school days, while a flasher moves into her suburban neighborhood.

Little Children is written by great co-writer/co-producer/director Todd Field (In the Bedroom (2001)) and Tom Perrotta (The Leftovers (2011), novel), based on his same-titled 2004 novel. It is Field's 2nd theatrical feature. It is a very fine film about miserable 'little children' (adults, really) of suburbia.
Little Children is extremely well-written, directed, acted and shot (by Antonio Calvache (Sleeping Luck (2003))).
Kate Winslet (Iris (2001)) plays the unresolved wife and mother character that she has portrayed well in other films as well. The sex offender is played phenomenally by Jackie Earle Haley (All the King's Men (2006)).
The themes and feelings stirred by the film are so related to those from Sam Mendes' modern classic American Beauty (1999), - the film's composer Thomas Newman (Saving Mr. Banks (2013)) was also contracted and made the score for Little Children, - and the similarities may explain why Little Children wasn't nearly as successful as American Beauty, even though it may be a tiny bit better.
This love-themed drama is for the most part a depressing time, which I write in the best possible way.

Related posts:

 

2006 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]

2006 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]

2006 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 26 mil. $
Box office: 14.8 mil. $
= Huge flop (returned 0.56 times the cost)
[Little Children premiered 1 September (Telluride Film Festival, Colorado) and runs 137 minutes. Field and Perrotta have reportedly deliberately changed the film's story to some degree from the one in the novel. Shooting took place in Boston, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, Maine, California and New Jersey from July - September 2005. It opened #42 to a 97k $ opening weekend in 5 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #27 and in 115 theaters (different weeks) and grossed 5.4 mil. $ (36.5 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Spain with 1.1 mil. $ (7.4 %) and the UK with 0.8 mil. $ (5.4 %). Roger Ebert gave the film a 2.5/4 star review, translating to two notches harder than this one. The film was nominated for 3 Oscars: Best Actress (Winslet), lost to Helen Mirren in The Queen), Supporting Actor (Haley), lost to Alan Arkin in Little Miss Sunshine, and Adapted Screenplay, lost to William Monahan for The Departed. It was also nominated for 3 Golden Globes and received many other honors. Field has yet to return as a director: He has pursued a now abandoned war drama titled America's Last Prisoner of War, and is set to direct for the Daniel Craig-starring TV-series Purity; he is also pursuing adaptation The Creed of Violence. Winslet returned in All the King's Men (2006), Jennifer Connelly (Noah (2014)) in Blood Diamond (2006), and Patrick Wilson (Fargo (2015), TV-series) in Running with Scissors (2006). Little Children is certified fresh at 80 % with a 7.4/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Little Children?

Dark Water (2005) - Salles' great, intensely creepy chiller

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+ Best Remake of the Year

The chilling poster for Walter Salles' Dark Water

QUICK REVIEW:

A divorce-torn mother moves into a shabby building with her daughter, whom the father does everything in his power to regain custody over. The flat is plagued by water damages, and both mother and daughter experience disturbing occurrences.

Dark Water is a remake of Hideo Nakata's (Ringu (1998)) great Japanese horror movie of the same name from 2002, written by Rafael Yglesias (From Hell (2001)) and directed by Brazilian master filmmaker Walter Salles (The Motorcycle Diaries/Diarios de Motocicleta (2004)). It is an atmospherically dense horror, which lives up to the high quality of the original with intriguing characters, which has more to them than revealed at first glance.
Jennifer Connelly (Requiem for a Dream (2000)) knows her stuff in the lead, and she is supported by Tim Roth (Youth without Youth (2007)), John C. Reilly (The Lobster (2015)) and Pete Postlethwaite (The Constant Gardener (2005)), who all give fine performances. Ariel Gade (Call of the Wild (2009)), who portrays the girl, is also convincing.
Dark Water has skilled production design by Thérèse DePrez (The Drop (2014)) and ditto photography by Affonso Beato (The Queen (2006)) as well as an eminent score by Angelo Badalamenti (A Late Quartet (2012)), which results in a thoroughly unpleasant creeper in the vein of Repulsion (1965)). Dark Water is an impressively strong goosebumps and nightmare machine...

Related review:

Walter Salles: On the Road (2012) - A great ensemble and cinematography make Salles' good Kerouaca adaptation overcome its flaws

2005 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 

In lieu of a trailer for the film, which isn't to be found on Youtube currently, here's a 2012 interview with director Walter Salles

Cost: 30 mil. $
Box office: 49.4 mil. $
= Big flop
[Dark Water was released July 8 and runs 105 minutes. It opened #4 to a 9.9 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it grossed 25.4 mil. $ (51.4 % of the total gross). Its 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Mexico with 2.9 mil. $ (5.9 %) and the UK with 2.5 mil. $ (5.1 %). The film flopped mainly due to its illogically high budget. Dark Water fared poorly with critics generally, who didn't seem able to appreciate its many qualities. It is rotten at 46 % with a 5.5 critical average on Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Dark Water?

The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008) - Unduly bashed sci-fi drama

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+ Best Remake of the Year + Best Science Fiction Movie of the Year

Keanu Reeves plays the emotionally vacant Klaatu in Scott Derrickson's The Day the Earth Stood Still

QUICK REVIEW:

Something strange lands on Manhattan, which turns out to be the exterminator of an alien civilization. Our harmful exploitation of Earth, it turns out, has put us on an erase list.

SPOILER Jennifer Connelly (Phenomena (1985)) and Jaden Smith (The Karate Kid (2010)) manage, with their charm and inherent humanity, to convince Keanu Reeve's (Knock Knock (2015)) version of the alien exterminator Klaatu that we can change and that we're worth saving, in spite of everything.
The Day the Earth Stood Still is a remake of the 1951 movie of the same name, both based on the sci-fi short story Farewell to the Master (1940) by Harry Bates (The Slave Ship from Space (1931)). The basic idea is terrifically exciting, and here in the second adaptation of the story great stars like John Cleese (A Fish Called Wanda (1988)) and Kathy Bates (Misery (1990)) help the exciting core sustain itself into a good film, - despite the fact that the beginning and the end of the film are weaker than its middle.
Scott Derrickson (Sinister (2012)) directed, and David Scarpa (The Last Castle (2001)) wrote the screenplay.

Related posts:

2008 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2008 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]  

2008 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2008 in films - according to Film Excess

Watch the trailer for the movie here

Cost: 80 mil. $
Box office: 233.1 mil. $
= Box office success
[The idea for a Reeves-led remake of the film originated way back in 1994. Global changes since the first film made the change to a more environmentally focused premise happen. Scarpa reportedly wrote 40 drafts of the script before shooting. The film was shot in December 2007 - March 2008 in Vancouver, mostly on sets. Its release was moved from May to December for post production and scheduling reasons. It opened to a 30.4 mil. $ first weekend in North America, with 12 % coming from IMAX screens, the reportedly highest IMAX share for a two-dimensional title at the time. The film only stayed in the top 10 domestically for 4 weeks, grossing 79.3 mil. $ (34 % of the total gross) there. The international markets were crucial for the success of the film: The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Japan with 26.2 mil. $ (11.2 %) and the UK with 10.9 mil. $ (4.7 %). The film got nominated for the Razzie award for Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-Off or Sequel, but 'lost' to Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The Day the Earth Stood Still is rotten at 21 % with a 4.1 critical average on Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Day the Earth Stood Still?
Compare it to the original, if you've seen it

Blood Diamond (2006) - Fundamentally flawed, unsuccessful Africa-venture with important issues at its core

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Djimon Hounsou and Leonardo DiCaprio in crisis on the poster for Edward Zwick's Blood Diamond

QUICK REVIEW:

A white Zimbabwean, Archer, smuggles conflict diamonds out of Sierra Leone, but now crosses tracks with an attractive journalist and a local man, whose family disappears in the country's civil war.
I am generous in giving the flawed Blood Diamond these 3 ♥'s. The film is a mix of a Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca (1942)-like character in a Romancing the Stone (1984)-like adventure with real, African horrors behind every corner of the tale. The film is depressing and overly long at 143 minutes. And predictable most of the way.
But the main problem is Leonardo DiCaprio's (The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)) character, our defeatist 'hero', who in real life is a really terrible crook. He is very hard to accept as 'our guy', and the script doesn't seem to acknowledge this. The worst scene is the one in which SPOILER he orders an air bombing and thereafter jumps heroically around amongst the deadly bombs. - Pretty infuriating stuff!
Djimon Hounsou's (The Tempest (2010)) character would have been much better suited as the protagonist. As it is, he provides the film's few moving moments, albeit soaked in overwrought pathos.
Blood Diamond cannot withstand scrutiny altogether and is fundamentally unsatisfying: Jennifer Connelly (A Beautiful Mind (2001)) is never with DiCaprio, which is a letdown; the climax is, - most anticlimactically, - SPOILER a phone conversation among the two of them(!); and the final scene of Hounsou getting hailed in Europe by a room full of white people is unbelievable: Where the !Zx?=!#! is his family? In Sierra Leone? Someplace else in Africa?
I give Blood Diamond its full 3rd ♥ just for giving attention to some important topics; child soldiers and blood diamonds. But it is still irrevocably a bad movie.
It is directed by Edward Zwick (The Last Samurai (2003)), who is now engaged in Pawn Sacrifice (2015), a film about a famous chess game (really!) and The American Can (2015), a Katrina survival drama with Will Smith.

Related post:

2006 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

Watch the trailer here

Budget: 100 mil. $
Box office: 171.4 mil. $
= Even Steven

What do you think of Blood Diamond?
Do you know of any better films that deal with child soldiers and/or blood diamonds?

Virginia/What's Wrong With Virginia (2010) or, A Woman's Struggle

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1 Film Excess win:

Best Lead Actress: Jennifer Connelly

5 Film Excess nominations:

Best Film (lost to The King's Speech) 
Best Screenplay: Dustin Lance Black (lost to Christopher Nolan for Inception)
Best Lead Actress: Jennifer Connelly (won)
Best Supporting Actor: Barry Shabaka Henley (lost to John C. Reilly for The Extra Man) 
Best Cinematography: Eric Alan Edwards (lost to Wally Phister for Inception) 

+ Most Under-appreciated Movie of the Year

Jennifer Connelly looks troubled and is aslant on this poster for Dustin Lance Black's Virginia

Virginia is a fickle-minded mother with a past of mental illness, who lives in an American town that has her confused with its excessive focus on God through different Christian sects. The local Mormon sheriff Tipton, who is running for office, has carried on a two decades long extra-marital affair with Virginia. Her teenage son is now out to prove that Tipton is not his father, in order that he can date Tipton's daughter. - Life is not easy for Virginia.

 
Virginia is written and directed by Californian master filmmaker Dustin Lance Black (The Journey of Jared Price (2000)), whose 2nd film as a director it is. It is a movie that is hard to sum up, but it is a rich and emotionally rewarding experience. It is about a woman who struggles for respectability; struggles to do the right thing; struggles to keep it together; but struggles most of all for her son. It is about everyone's pursuit of happiness, reassurance, God, redemption and love. And the anxieties and stresses that all of these concepts also congest in the human mind.
Jennifer Connolly (Requiem for a Dream (2000)), one of the finest actresses we have today, is magnificent as Virginia. She helped pick items for Virginia's house and wardrobe for the film, and throughout the film it is a luxurious joy to see her truly own that character. Connolly is supported by great actors in all the other parts: The young Harrison Gilbert (Need for Speed (2014)) impresses as Virginia's direct, sincere son. Ed Harris (Appaloosa (2008)) shines in another difficult part as sheriff Tipton, a desperate and dangerous man who has built himself a life that's only held together by corroding lies. Barry Shabaka Henley (Collateral (2004)) has a small, but pivotal part as Virginia's old male nurse. Their scenes are nothing short of heartbreaking.
Emma Roberts (Valentine's Day (2010)) and Amy Madigan (Winter Passing (2005)) are good as the daughter and wife of Tipton. And Toby Jones (Kaleidoscope (2016)) and Paul Walter Hauser (Richard Jewell (2019)) are a gift as a tragic - and sometimes funny - couple.
Virginia is so rich with texture and American life: The sheriff Tipton character inevitably made me think of last year's Mormon presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who was about as trustworthy as sheriff Tipton and probably had a Virginia or two in his chained up Mormon closet somewhere as well.
The movie plays out mostly in a sleepy Summer town with a theme park. Everything comes to life around a governor's visit to the local sheriff's campaign. There is an unreal, stagnant atmosphere in that little society. The characters are never judged. The roller-coasters in the town's background seem to reflect on their co-mingling lives in the drowsy town.
Quite often in Virginia, the characters speak lines that are unintentionally poignant and/or funny, (but intentionally written so, I am sure.) The underlying intelligence is keen, and the film stays living and breathing through it, but many times I was too emotionally invested in the characters to laugh at them, even if they did say some ridiculous things. This is a testament to great, truthful acting and seriousness in direction.
Virginia has a sensitive, delicate score by Nick Urata (I Love You Philip Morris (2009)), and great, unpretentious cinematography by Eric Alan Edwards (Knocked Up (2007)).
The movie is a first class heartbreaker.

Related posts:

 

Dustin Lance Black: J. Edgar (2011) - Eastwood, Black and DiCaprio's great, intense biopic (writer)
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess



Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: Unknown
Box office: 12k $
= Box office disaster (estimated return of 0.003 times the cost)

[Virginia premiered 15 September (Toronto International Film Festival) and runs 116 minutes. Shooting took place from September - November 2009 in Michigan and New Jersey. The film opened #43 to a 742$ first weekend in 5 theaters in North America, its peak there and the film's only theatrical market. If made on a very lowly estimated 4 mil. $ budget, the film would rank as a rarely bleak disaster with a return of just 0.003 times the cost. The release was obstructed by a bad first premiere in Toronto and following re-editing and re-titling by Black, who also told a festival reporter that the film, which is allegedly autobiographical, "was pretty bad", effectively taking the life out of it himself. Black as a director has only returned with 2 shorts and 2 TV credits since. Connelly returned in The Dilemma (2011); Harris in Salvation Boulevard (2011). Virginia is rotten at 11 % with a 4.40/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 
What do you think of Virginia?