God is in all of us, Jessie professes as she stands before her small town church congregation expected to confess her sins. She is more innocent than she or anyone listening from the pews could know.

With "Virgin" we are given the frank, depressing tale of how Jessie ends up pressed before that close-minded church congregation. The film's lead character, Jessie, is an out of control 16 year old. She drinks and smokes but still manages to deliver papers on a newspaper route in the wee hours of the morning. Jessie's younger sister Katie (played by Stephanie Gatchet), is a healthy long distance runner who is embarrassed by her sister’s lifestyle. After a race she informs Jessie that she "runs for God." The small town inhabited by these characters appears to be firmly in the grip of the local church led by an Ernest Ainsley type preacher (think deep South Evangelist, although the setting appears to have a Northern location). During the fire and brimstone church services one expects the healing hands to be exposed.

One night at a party, Jessie gets very drunk and escapes into the woods with a young man, Shane (played by Charles Socarides), who has captured her heart. Shane slips her a drug (one imagines to be a date rape type drug) and while she is unconscious, he has his way with her. Jessie awakens later oblivious to what has happened. Through dreams, she becomes convinced that she is carrying the child of God because, after all, she hasn't had sex, right? Her revelation is "blasphemy" according to her father and the town's folk have no compassion for this mentally ill possibly promiscuous young lady in need of professional help.

"Virgin" is a painful feature debut from writer/director Deborah Kampmeier. Painful because we, like the folks in the small town in which Jessie lives, would rather not be reminded of all the terrible things that are done to young people in order to keep them from doing other terrible things (at least, that is the plan). The real question posed by "Virgin" is which is worse, the repression associated with organized religion or the dangerous slippery slope developing from uninhibited free will? Part of the answer, I think is in your view of basic human nature--fundamentally evil or basically good. Both are on display here: (1) in the person of Shane, the guilt stricken boy who took advantage of the drugged Jessie; and (2) the simple Michael (played by Sam Riley), another boy who believes he loves Jessie and will go to great extremes to prove true his infatuation.

The cynics will sneer at the extreme developments taking place in "Virgin," but few could deny the truth that youth is often lost in the shuffle of communities grappling for answers to everyday struggles. Little time is left for the personal troubles of one child and when those problems manifest themselves vividly in her belly, we, like the townsfolk, would rather turn away (Hell, run away and put our heads in the sand). Hundred million dollar blockbusters are constructed to avoid the tough questions with the intent to provide escape. But films like "Virgin" remind us that life is really here and it's ugly, depressingly grim, and often unpleasant. If you want an amusement park ride you are encouraged to seek out a local carnival.

Viewers familiar with television’s popular “West Wing” series will know Elisabeth Moss (where she plays the President's daughter) who plays Jessie. Here Moss proves that she is an accomplished actress (with some gritty range for her youth). She has a face capable of conveying both agony and naive happiness. She is innocent to the very end, which is required for the role. Without a sincere performance such as this, the film would not have been as credible. "Virgin" is dramatic to the extreme, which may be hard for some viewers to buy. At times, I found myself drifting but never rolling my eyes because I'm not too jaded to ignore the base problems that press us into awful decisions driven by impossible circumstances.

Jessie’s mother is played by the skillful Robin Wright Penn. Wright Penn is not the focus of “Virgin” and much about her character’s internal demons are left to the audience’s imagination (I took it that she was having marital troubles and may suffer from emotional problems). She and Moss have several tender scenes with one another like when it is discovered that Jessie has been shoplifting from the local mall. I thought that the tragedy associated with the return and payment of the items stolen could have been captured a little more broadly with wider camera shots. This is a digital video production and, perhaps, the filmmaker was limited, however, the emotional intensity of the scenes in the mall were really only displayed on the face of the talented Wright Penn. I guess I wanted to see the reactions of the people in the stores to truly grasp the depth of the humiliation being experienced.

Also, there were other limits present in "Virgin" I could have done without (it's point having been made clearly already). I, like many of you I'm sure, question the film's concluding sequence involving the birth of the baby, although I was impressed by this scene's uncompromising approach. Also, I second-guessed the screenplay's many endings which may be one too many. Still, this Ken Loach style incremental social commentary is admirable and the gritty nature of the digital video employed to capture it is appropriate (regardless of my previous comments, there is an intimacy that is achieved here). EI readers may recognize Mr. Loach's name as the Brit social technician behind such uncompromisingly real films like last year's "Sweet Sixteen." In the real world, events are rarely wrapped up in one nice tidy concluding event. Even in death those surviving must go on and deal with next curve ball thrown.

The American tragedy is difficult to articulate in these days of growing prosperity in which we complain bitterly about the small things like not finding a close parking spot at the local Old Navy. Luckily, there is a place in the movies and in our hearts for the kind of unpopular social commentary present in "Virgin." Raising questions that gnaw at you for hours or even days after the film is over is testament to the success of a small feature like "Virgin." And I'm still trying to figure out the answers that may elude me for the rest of my days.

Jonathan W. Hickman, 2003