One of the great mysteries of our time is just want goes on in all those meetings convened to determine if a film is to be produced and made. In these pitch meetings creative minds come together with the studio executives discuss the various ideas for stories and characters before the business people lay out tens of millions of dollars in production costs. I have to wonder about such a meeting for the film ‘Virgin Territory’. Someone had to use the words ‘romantic action comedy’ and ‘black plague’ in the same sentence. Now there have been stranger settings for a movie of this combination of genres but off hand I cannot think of one. Ah yes the romantic setting of people dying by the millions in the street. Add to this a pair of lead actors who are known far more for there looks than acting ability and there is little wonder that the executives came up with a reported $38 million for the project. While the Florentine period was an interesting one and many great films have come from it this flick misses the mark in almost ever conceivable way possible. The film is not without its moments, true, but it falls short of reaching its potential. There is something here that still entertains but the feeling that arises is there could have been more. The film is fun if you take it with a grain of salt and have a better than average ability to suspend belief. After all romantic comedies no matter what the setting are not indented to be taken all too seriously. This may appeal to younger audiences instead of the more discerning film buffs around. There is much of the MTV generation represented here and for those of you out there just sit back and enjoy it. Such movies are just fluffy without substance but considering the target demographic and the genre it can be said to have worked out.

The film was written and directed by David Leland. He is an accomplished talent in both fields as well as being a working actor since the sixties. As a writer he has some television credits and co-authored the script for the 1986 quirky cult classic ‘Mona Lisa’. In his role as director he is credited for an episode of the acclaimed ‘Band of Brothers’ HBO series and a couple of concert films; ‘Concert for George’ and ‘Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Playback’. This knowledge of popular music had an influence on his work here. Like the movie ‘A Knight’s Tale’ Leland infuses this flick with a somewhat anachronistic pop music score. His overall goal appears to have been creating a modern day story set as a period piece. This can be a fantastic idea and full of whimsy as was demonstrated in ‘Shakespeare in Love’. It does work here if only you can move on from the whole Black Death thing that refuses to stay in the background. Okay, that part bothered me and I admit that it colored my potential appreciation of the film. The way the overall juxtaposition of the modern with the fourteenth is amusing and makes for an interesting take on a common genre. Where Leland needed more work was with the consistency of the movie. There is a need for a greater focus that is seen here. Now with a romantic comedy you can not fault the writer or director for such overused plot points as the chance meeting or just he right circumstances at the right time. Such overly covenant and implausible things are just part of this type of movie. Even the best of the genre are guilty of these contrivances. Also present are the typical run of devices popular with Elizabethan literature. You always need some sort of misunderstanding and people pretending to be someone else. If it was good enough for the Bard to use in man of his rom-coms it is good enough to be used here. For this period something else is required for the plot line. You have to have some sign of class struggle. The aristocrats of the day were far above the common crowd and this point needed repeated mentions. The addition of the Florentine is also always good for a costume piece like this as it allows the set and costume designers a chance to go all out with lush fabric and well appointed architecture. Much of the movie is paced like an extended music video; with the modern music on cue every time and the staging of the actors just right to show off the best possible camera angles. Leland is a talented director and does manage to keep the movie on track most of the time helping the audience to forget some of the shortcomings of the production. Most of all it is evident that Leland was committed whole heartedly to this film and that goes long way to helping it work out.

The movie takes place in Italy during the Black Death. Those of wealth and privilege were able to escape the stench of death that filled the cities by going off to their country villas. A group of young people are doing so ostensibly with the excuse of attending a wedding. One beautiful young woman, Pampinea (Mischa Barton) has just lost her father. This has left the pampered (get the pun here) girl in a difficult financial situation. He father was about to secure her future with an arranged marriage to a Russian Count Dzerzhinsky (Matthew Rhys). Since he died before the matter could be formalized Pampinea the estate is now in the hands of an undesirable Italian aristocrat Gerbino (Tim Roth). Her only hope of retaining the family property and some measure of financial comfort is to marry him. She can’t face such a fate and runs off to a convent. Albeit this is not a choice that most of the teen girls watching would even consider. It is at the convent that she meets Lorenzo de Lamberti (Hayden Christensen). He considers her the most beautiful woman in the world and when Pampinea is blindfolded she kisses him and falls instantly in love. There are mix ups in the marriage arrangements, a sword fight and general mayhem before it is all over and the young lovers can find true happiness.

At one time Mischa Barton was on the edge of becoming the new Indy darling. As a child actor she gave an amazing performance in a little crime flick called ‘Pups’. She was also fantastic in the unconventional story of love and obsession ‘Lost and Delirious’. Now, she is best known for a popular teen night time soap opera called ‘The O.C.’. She still retains at least a modicum of the talent she has shown in the past although hindered by some of the constraints of the script. Considering the acting abilities of Hayden Christensen is a tricky matter. Some people, especially teen and early twenties girls, just love him. He is a handsome young man, that is true but so far he has been far from impressive as an actor. He is flat in just about every performance I have seen of his to date. He cannot seem to embody his character properly to convince the audience. Part of the problem is the roles he has been getting. In most films, this one included, he appears to be hired for his looks and the female appeal he brings. He needs to take a page from the page book that Brad Pitt used and get a part where he is made ugly. It worked for Pitt; after ‘Kalifornia’ people stopped just looking at him as a pretty face and he got a chance to grow as an actor. Christensen is at that point. He is unable to offer anything to his role as the love struck young man because he is mostly window dressing.

The DVD is released by Starz / Anchor Bay. The anamorphic 1.78:1 video is very well done with great balance and palette. The Dolby 5.1 audio provides a full and rich sound stage. There are a few extras included such as the required making of featurette and the behind the scenes look at the costumes. One odd selection is the ‘Censored Scenes of Sexuality’. This included a topless girl floating down to bed a man, a testicle measuring scene and a full frontal skinny dip. It is for those that need a little more gratuitous nudity. If you were born before MTV started to air you might want to skip this one but for those fully part of that generation just sit back and enjoy.