33
Metascore
14 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 50The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick GroenThe Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick GroenIt's all rather wacky and hard to follow or fathom, although maybe that's attributable to Virginia's schizophrenia veering off on its delusional phase.
- 50New York PostLou LumenickNew York PostLou LumenickBlack loses control of Virginia as it lurches from political satire to unintended black comedy to mom-and-son melodrama. But the performances and the movie's sheer crazy audacity make it watchable.
- 40Time OutEric HynesTime OutEric HynesIt also serves to undercut fine performances by Connelly and Harris, whose choices are constantly destabilized by scripted swings between comedy and drama, realism and fantasy, genuine catharsis and indie-film ornamentation. Black's overactive melodrama is more than a representation of schizophrenia; it's the embodiment of it.
- 40New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierNew York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierThe movie as a whole falls victim to a dewy kind of Tennessee Williams-itis, as Black plops too many wanna-be, colorful twists - imminent illness, botched robberies, fake pregnancies - into what is at heart a gently heartbreaking rendering.
- 38Slant MagazineJesse CataldoSlant MagazineJesse CataldoUnfortunately, there's little sympathy granted to these people, and the revelation of their hidden vices comes across like an increasingly mean series of punchlines.
- 30The Hollywood ReporterMichael RechtshaffenThe Hollywood ReporterMichael RechtshaffenPresumably a glib attack on sanctimonious small-town religious hypocrisy informed by Black's own strict Mormon upbringing, the film is tonally all over the place, eventually settling in a rut that comes a lot closer to resembling bad camp than edgy satire.
- 30Village VoiceVillage VoiceA bonkers tragicomedy that blandly mocks the red-state family-values charade.
- 30The New York TimesStephen HoldenThe New York TimesStephen HoldenVirginia is a wildly unpredictable piece of work. Playing the kind of role that is often associated with Laura Dern, Ms. Connelly gives a brave, full-tilt performance that is true to the character but can't hold the movie together.
- With its soft jabs at hypocrisy and band-aid use of voiceover narration, Virginia is an excruciatingly slow train wreck.