Miss Virginia

Sure, biopics of living subjects require a careful balance, but if Miss Virginia couldn't find a way to include some analysis alongside all its admiration, why bother?

Uzo Aduba gives a fine performance in the otherwise flat "Miss Virginia," playing real-life education advocate Virginia Walden Ford.

The movie's effort to separate a feel-good story from its political foundation does not earn it a passing grade.

Miss Virginia exerts a strong pull at times, thanks largely to Aduba's superb performance.

One woman crusades for better education in this incredibly inspiring real-life story.

Miss Virginia is an inspirational tale that has every reason to be told but opts for safety and caution instead of being wholly committed in the activism ingrained in its plot.

The subject of the 'school voucher' is not particularly interesting in itself, so Hanna tells Virginia's story in the most basic, melodramatic and TV-movie manner possible.

Miss Virginia is an awkward hybrid so intent on communicating a feelgood message that it muddies the issues until the real story is all but lost.

Abuda is a talented actress, but her limited range and dull acting choices turn "Miss Virginia," the movie and the character, into a shrinking violet.

This five-star film takes an alternate route by addressing an ongoing issue that proves if disadvantaged children did not grow up in the wrong zip code, their lives would not be predetermined by the circumstances of their environment.