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VIRGINIA (2012)Movie Reviews
Drama about a single mother struggling to raise her son in a small Southern town filled with secrets and suspicion. Cast:Ed Harris, Emma Roberts, Carrie Preston, Jennifer Connelly, Amy Madigan, Toby JonesDirector:Dustin Lance BlackRelease Date:May 18, 2012DVD Release:August 21, 2012From:Entertainment OneRating:RLength:1 hr. 56 min.
Virginia (2012) played in limited release to weak reviews. • Susan G. Cole wrote in Toronto Now, "You'd rather a first-time director be ambitious than timid, but Oscar-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black tries to do way too much in his directorial debut." • And Scott Tobias wrote for NPR, "...there's something fundamentally synthetic about 'Virginia'..." More Reviews Below...
Virginia (2012) Positive Reviews (16 Reviews, reviews below)
Virginia (2012) has not been reviewed by Broad National Press
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (9 Reviews)
Stephen Holden, New York Times: WEAK "Ms. Connelly gives a brave, full-tilt performance that is true to the character but can't hold the movie together... its tone zigzags among farce, pathos and satire."(See all of Stephen Holden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 575 words, 05/18/12
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: WEAK(cg) "...plops too many wanna-be, colorful twists -- imminent illness, botched robberies, fake pregnancies -- into what is at heart a gently heartbreaking rendering."(See all of Joe Neumaier's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 314 words, 05/18/12
Sheri Linden, Los Angeles Times: POOR "Nothing adds up... the loosely autobiographical movie aims for roller-coaster passion but only flatlines.... an excruciatingly slow train wreck."(See all of Sheri Linden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 228 words, 05/18/12
Lou Lumenick, New York Post: MODERATE(cg) "...from political satire to unintended black comedy to mom-and-son melodrama.... the performances and the movie's sheer crazy audacity make it watchable."(See all of Lou Lumenick's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 361 words, 05/18/12
Benjamin Mercer, Village Voice/LA Weekly: WEAK "...a bonkers tragicomedy that blandly mocks the red-state family-values charade... Tonal stability is not the hallmark of this out-of-time fantasia..."(See all of Benjamin Mercer's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 227 words, 05/16/12
Rick Groen, Toronto Globe & Mail: MODERATE(cg) "...this being Southern Gothic with a bizarre comic twist, gorilla masks get donned and banks get robbed. Huh? Exactly."(See all of Rick Groen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 317 words, 05/18/12
Susan G. Cole, Toronto Now: WEAK(cg) "You'd rather a first-time director be ambitious than timid, but Oscar-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black tries to do way too much in his directorial debut."(See all of Susan G. Cole's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 195 words, 05/17/12
KEY CITIES (1 Review)
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: WEAK(cg) "Straining to be a quirky indie, 'Virginia' instead is just odd and hard to follow.... tries to do too many things and doesn't do any of them very well."(See all of Bill Goodykoontz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 442 words, 06/08/12
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (6 Reviews)
Benjamin Mercer, Village Voice/LA Weekly: WEAK "...a bonkers tragicomedy that blandly mocks the red-state family-values charade... Tonal stability is not the hallmark of this out-of-time fantasia..."(See all of Benjamin Mercer's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 227 words, 05/16/12
Sam Adams, AV Club: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Black seems to be aiming for some sort of loopy fantasia... but he's got more half-finished ideas than he can handle."(See all of Sam Adams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 324 words, 05/25/12
Alison Willmore, Movieline: MODERATE(cg) "...garbled... does feature a strong performance from Jennifer Connelly, who's vulnerable and appealing while still being genuinely and alarmingly unpredictable."(See all of Alison Willmore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 825 words, 05/17/12
Jesse Cataldo, Slant: WEAK(cg) "Rather than unite its flawed characters into a convincing portrait of dysfunction, 'Virginia' strings them along aimlessly under the limp auspices of satire..."(See all of Jesse Cataldo's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 455 words, 05/14/12
Susan G. Cole, Toronto Now: WEAK(cg) "You'd rather a first-time director be ambitious than timid, but Oscar-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black tries to do way too much in his directorial debut."(See all of Susan G. Cole's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 195 words, 05/17/12
HIGHBROW PRESS (3 Reviews)
Stephen Holden, New York Times: WEAK "Ms. Connelly gives a brave, full-tilt performance that is true to the character but can't hold the movie together... its tone zigzags among farce, pathos and satire."(See all of Stephen Holden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 575 words, 05/18/12
Sheri Linden, Los Angeles Times: POOR "Nothing adds up... the loosely autobiographical movie aims for roller-coaster passion but only flatlines.... an excruciatingly slow train wreck."(See all of Sheri Linden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 228 words, 05/18/12
Sheri Linden, Los Angeles Times: POOR "Nothing adds up... the loosely autobiographical movie aims for roller-coaster passion but only flatlines.... an excruciatingly slow train wreck."(See all of Sheri Linden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 228 words, 05/18/12
Stephen Holden, New York Times: WEAK "Ms. Connelly gives a brave, full-tilt performance that is true to the character but can't hold the movie together... its tone zigzags among farce, pathos and satire."(See all of Stephen Holden's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 575 words, 05/18/12
12.6 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Virginia (2012)'s reviews are separated by an average 12.6 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
Virginia (2012) (16 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Virginia (2012)'s reviews cover 17.3% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 6,839 words involume (average is 20,172 words). Length:The film's reviews average 427 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Virginia (2012) Coverage, Volume & Length (16 Reviews, reviews below)
Reviews Broke 32 Days Before Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Virginia (2012)'s reviews on average broke 32 days before opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is Virginia (2012)'s opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
Virginia (2012) (16 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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