Virgil Bliss

Every once in a while a gem of a movie pops up out of nowhere. One such movie is Virgil Bliss. I first though, yeah, another low budget stinker but I was dead wrong. Virgil Bliss is a great film. Low on budget, yes. High on writing and talent, yes.

Virgil Bliss is an urban tragedy. Virgil’s chances of success in the outside world appear to be doomed from the onset, from the sarcastic prison guards messing with him before his release, to being fired from his job as a janitor for being an ex-con.

Virgil is released from prison to a halfway house in New York where he meets the confrontational Manny Alvarez, who Virgil eventually befriends. After unsuccessfully trying to pick up women, Manny takes Virgil to the gritty, post-industrial street corner that Ruby works. Virgil makes the tragic mistake of falling in love with her, much to Manny’s protests. Virgil is played by Clint Jordan. Ruby is played by Kirsten Russell. Both performances are truly authentic and convincing.

It looks like Virgil and Ruby may have a chance of a new life, but it doesn’t work out that way. At all.

An added bonus is the soundtrack, nearly perfect for this film.

Virgil Bliss was written and directed by Joe Maggio.

Grade A