Sweet Virginia
IFC Films | Release Date: November 17, 2017 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
72
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 13 Critic Reviews
Positive:
10
Mixed:
3
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
Village VoiceApril WolfeNov 16, 2017
The concepts Sweet Virginia explore through this setup — lives intersecting after a tragedy in a small town and a dangerous outsider tearing through a community — aren’t new for noir or westerns, but the understated, intense performances of Dagg’s cast make this slow burner a standout. Read full review
90
VarietyPeter DebrugeApr 29, 2017
It’s this strange alchemy — the way that a terse script can leave so much unsaid, combined with such a talented ensemble’s ability to suggest all the details left either in silence or in darkness — that makes “Sweet Virginia” such a haunting character study. Read full review
88
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliNov 16, 2017
As with most slow-burn neo-noir movies, Sweet Virginia thrives on atmosphere. It oozes it from every frame. Read full review
80
UproxxKeith PhippsDec 4, 2017
It’s a film about lonely people in an isolated part of the world, the sort of place where people go to disappear and sometimes slip further away than they’d intended. It’s also one of the most suspenseful and uncompromising noirs of recent years. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterSheri LindenNov 16, 2017
What director Jamie M. Dagg achieves with his slow burn of a second feature is a total immersion in end-of-the-line atmosphere, with four superb central performances bringing archetypal intrigue to life. Read full review
80
The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisNov 16, 2017
A twisty, small-town thriller that blooms in the shadows and shies from the light, “Sweet Virginia” marshals a relentlessly threatening mood from dangerous secrets and unpleasant surprises. Read full review
75
IndieWireDavid EhrlichApr 29, 2017
The film is gripping from start to finish, even when so much of its menace rings hollow. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesNoel MurrayNov 22, 2017
Dagg (who previously made the very good chase picture “River”) tries too hard to give the material a highbrow frame. The movie is dimly lighted and hushed to a fault. But the China brothers’ script is strong, and Dagg elicits terrific performances from Abbott, Bernthal and Poots. Read full review
67
The PlaylistAlly JohnsonApr 29, 2017
A movie that forgoes solid storytelling for an atmosphere that keeps you captivated, director Jamie M. Dagg has made a film that plays with genres from neo-noir to thriller to even horror. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzNov 30, 2017
Jamie M. Dagg's new film, Sweet Virginia, is a lot to take in – too much, really. It's a revenge movie, a crime thriller, a gentle and low-key romance, and a dusty drama about the pains of leaving the past behind. It doesn't succeed at being any one of those things, too muddled is the script and too unsteady is the direction. Read full review
60
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottNov 30, 2017
Much of Sweet Virginia suggests a deep Coen brothers influence. But when it is pulled off as well as it is in Sweet Virginia, there's no shame in that. Read full review
50
RogerEbert.comGlenn KennyNov 17, 2017
The movie is well put together, enough so that if you’re not entirely tired of its clichés, it might constitute a tolerable entertainment. I’d rather watch “Double Indemnity” for the 15th time. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineChuck BowenNov 14, 2017
Sweet Virginia doesn’t have much of a point, as its characters are reductive variables in an inevitable equation of carnage. Read full review
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