Wonderful movie. Exciting plot, memorable characters but, if anything, too short.

Small town drama with a small town crime/consequence/ending. Doesn’t go beyond that and that’s ok. Very well acted by everyone involved. Well worth the watch.

Took itself way too seriously and the "drop" at the end was comical. Abbott and Poots are very decent throughout - Bernthal grunts and moods through the whole film. I felt bored for large parts yet still somehow emotionally drained by the end, bit like recovering from the flu.

Performances from Bernthal and Abbot were truly remarkable. Felt like a flick from the 70s. Loved it!

Marvelous film. Loved the characters and the setting. All the cast were superb. Highly recommend.

Felt like I was rooting this movie on all the way through. Nice setup to a small town crime. From there it builds too slowly with little material. I did have an appreciation for the tone and style of the movie. But, it wasn't enough. A really strong cast with very shallow characters. Lila, who was one of the main characters, I forgot was even there most of the time. Really too bad. Could have and should have been a really solid movie.

A sluggish film. Sweet Virginia had a lot going for it. A strong cast with a compelling story. Only problem is the pacing of this film is very off and also has a disappointing ending. Jon Bernthal does all that he can do to try and save this film with his acting chops but he falls short of the mark. I get it that this film is trying to be like a Noir type of crime thriller but the pacing throws everything out of whack. Director Jamie M. Dagg has some very interesting characters on screen that I really wish we could have dove more into the depths of but sadly we don’t. If a slow burning Noir film is your type then you might really enjoy this one. For me it was really on the more boring side with not alot happening not until 2/3 of the way into the movie. Sweet Virginia gets a failing grade of 2 1/2 stars out of 5 from me.

Super solid thriller-drama with an excellent ending.

Bernthal and Abbot did a good job the script they were given. This movie attempted to be mysterious and suspenseful but accomplished neither. This was a SLOW drag to an obvious ending.

Good acting but too slow and bland for my taste (good thing it's a 90-minute film!).

John Bernthal è un attore carismatico e magnetico, spesso sottovalutato, bravo nel dare vita ad un personaggio atipico e completo; perfettamente connesso al luogo in cui si svolge la trama, che è gradevole seppure non molto elaborata. Alcuni aspetti si potevano approfondire di più, ma viene scelto di dare spazio a qualche dialogo romantico in più e si sceglie anche di tenere la durata ridotta. La qualità e la coerenza del film, vengono alla luce anche con la buona fotografia e l'altrettanto buona colonna sonora; tutto rema nella stesa direzione e non ci sono elementi che stonano; il thriller è di qualità; nota di merito per un villain che si trasforma perfettamente col passare dei minuti, facendo cadere il velo di calma e pacatezza per uno di rabbia e furia cieca; merito anche di un ottimo Christopher Abbott.

6.3/10 — "Okay"/"Watchable" -(Seen on 9/30/21)

This is a dark movie about "for hire" killing gone bad. It has a visual style that matches it's dark, dreary town somewhere in Alaska. Imogen Potts is no stranger to dark films, having co-starred In The Art of Self-Defense; and she is good in this one as the catalyst for the plot. Jon Bernthal is amazingly natural and compelling in the role of the retired rodeo star that takes up managing his deceased brother's hotel. There are some nuances to his performance and the challenges of the character that he handles really well. Christopher Abbott is good as the psychotic man whose life is interwoven into this story. He is doing his best Travis Bickle. Regardless, I can't help but think that he is the weakest link here. The film has some riveting and surprising moments event though it is slowly paced. The characters are very human and flawed. This is worth watching.

I've streamed so many dark movies lately, I've been wondering if there's something wrong with my video screen. But there isn't. "Sweet Virginia" is deliberately dark-looking, maybe shot through a filter or something, a trick filmmakers use to convey "noir." It's enough to give you seasonal affective disorder. In addition to its overly dark look, "Sweet Virginia" can't be considered particularly original. It uses the "scroungy motel in a rural location" setting, which has been done to death. It takes place in small town Alaska, the single thing that differentiates it from the dozens of other flicks in this genre. The story is pretty simple: Lila (Imogen Poots) has hired Elwood (Christopher Abbott) to shoot her cheating husband. Elwood does the job but shoots two other innocent men in the process. Now, he's waiting for Lila to pay him from her husband's estate and life insurance, and he's staying at the Sweet Virginia motel while he waits. The motel is run by former rodeo star Sam Rossi (John Bernthal), who has been having an affair with Bernadette (Rosemary DeWitt), now a widow since her husband was one of the men Elwood killed. Sam engages in a casual friendship with Ellwood, not knowing that Elwood killed the hubby of his girlfriend. There is not a cop in sight, by the way. This is not a police procedural; it's a character study. Complications ensue, not the least of which is that Lila discovers that her husband was bankrupt and let his insurance lapse. So she's trying to avoid Ellwood. It all sounds like seedy, small town "Blood Simple" type stuff, but it's not as devious and clever as that film was. There is a feeling of suspense, but it's the slow boil type. It does ratchet up the tension quite well in its last 20 minutes. Bernthal wisely underplays his role. He's laconic and laid back, a decent guy in spite of his indiscretion. His is the film's best performance. Abbott's Ellwood is strangely blank, but he's prone to impulsive rage. Poots is bland and unmemorable, more of a plot device than a character. Director Jamie Dagg does an admirable job in spite if the screenplay's cliches. The camera work is quite good, and the movie doesn't drag; it just moves slowly. The dialog is straightforward and realistic. "Sweet Virginia" isn't a bad movie; neither is it a dumb movie. It may not be the most memorable noir film you've ever seen, but it works. It keeps you interested. It will also make you want to go out and get some sun.

A slow paced movie about poor people doing stupid and desperate things to help their financial future, but they just make it more bloodier and dirtier.

An extremely solid movie. It's really beautiful. It's a nice small town crime movie.

A film with a heavy atmosphere, which fulfills its role as drama and suspense. It offers an organized and relatively good story. Jon Bernthal was the one that I paid the most attention to and is very well interpreting someone who lives life trying to distance himself from the past at the same time that this left him marks that over time became more profound. (The truth is that I saw this movie just because of Jon, and in the end it was an ok movie).

A movie about nothing. Boring with only an ounce of stimulation. I gave this 1.5 stars due to the darkness and haunting music score. You will walk away from this as if you bought a Hershey bar only to find a wrapper with tin foil and a flat piece of cardboard for the edible.

Sous ses atours de film noir sans aucun suspense ni même aucune finesse, Sweet Virginia prend allègrement son temps. Le film de Jamie Dagg est un slow-burner où même Jon Bernthal passe pour un monstre de calme et de charisme. C'est en l'opposant à un terrifiant Christopher Abbott que le film marche parfaitement. Sweet Virginia peut parfois sembler se reposer sur des scènes de cul et des dialogues un peu trop écrits, mais tout ceci se retrouve répondu dans un dernier acte d'une sècheresse remarquable. Tout n'est pas parfait dans Sweet Virginia et le film aurait vraiment été meilleur avec une gestion du rythme plus ténue, mais c'est un bel exemple du fait qu'on puisse vraiment écrire des films noirs de nos jours sans tomber dans la copie éhontée des années 50s.

Feels slow, then BANG - intensity! Pretty much goes like that throughout. Just when you’re about to pick up your phone and scroll/swipe, something catches you and you get hooked in again. The only downside is that it’s a little frustratingly dark visually.