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White Lightnin'
Deep in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains in West Virginia, where every man owns a gun and a moonshine still, abides living legend Jesco White, "the dancing outlaw". As a boy Jesco was in and out of reform school and the insane asylum. To keep him out of trouble, his daddy D-Ray taught him the art of mountain dancing, a frenzied version of tap dancing to wild country banjo music. After his father's death, crazy Jesco dons his father's tap shoes and takes his show on the road.
Release : | 2009 |
Rating : | 7 |
Studio : | Film and Music Entertainment, |
Crew : | Art Direction, Production Design, |
Cast : | Edward Hogg Carrie Fisher Muse Watson Owen Campbell Stephanie Astalos-Jones |
Genre : | Drama Thriller |
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Reviews
Wonderful character development!
So much average
Fantastic!
A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.
This movie was awful, nothing in it was real, Jesco White was a thief and a coward, he never won a fight in his life much less shoot anyone, oh... one thing was real, he did sniff glue , lighter fluid, and gas, and Ole man McCoy beat the crap out of him for stealing lighter fluid from his store, and my brother never dragged D Ray he shot him,also Jesco and Dorsey with a 12 gage shot gun, after Dorcey shot at him with a pistol, my brother spent 10 yrs in jail till Jesco made the first documentary and the parole board seen it and let Steve out of prison, these people are scum of the earth, everyone from Boone county are ashamed of Jesco, we were raised and went to school with em, my Mother and Donald Rays Mother ( Oni ) are first cousins, who ever made this show screwed up,,,wish they would have asked me to write the script, I would have made it real, the actors were good in this show, but the story line was 98% false
This film felt at the same time genius, but at the same like a piece of crap. I think the acting and the mood in the film was one of the best since I've seen after Malick, Kubrick or Tarkovsky, but at the same time it just felt like a irritating overdose of film-cocaine.It's always difficult to watch stupid people do stupid things in film. So was the case with this films main character.I understand that the background with the father is somehow supposed to justify it all, but it was still hard for me.We can see that the director is strong visually and a guy we will here from, but the script could have had a few more looks and a comment round from someone before they started shooting it.
White lightnin' is a work which exudes originality. That first and foremost must be said from this reviewer who is personally tired of the vapid humdrum which is usually churned out by Hollywood on a regular basis. Watching this film, I felt contented that there are still filmmakers out there who display boundary pushing ingenuity in there craft and who are not afraid to disturb the living hell out of you. Dominic Murphy has showed that he is one such director capable of telling you gut wrenching stories without descending into the usual path of incoherence in which so many of these types of films do. White Lightnin' is a film in which the plot never once lost focus of telling the story of the mountain dancing, gas huffing Jesco White. And while the violence, as my previous reviewer noted, is gratuitous and revolting, I never once felt it was incongruous or irrelevant with the story trying to be told. It is also of importance to note that viewing WL is like peering through a window into the destitute "white trash" culture of the poverty-stricken Appalachia. A way of life not assiduously examined through the medium of film. This in part presents the film with a particular boldness that was exhilarating to view.
Seen this one at the Berlin Filmfestival 2009 and did not know what I was up for. Felt quite a bit sorry for the friends I brought with me cause it turned out to be a tour de force in part.The style, the editing, the acting - all that is pretty impressive and engaging. But mind you: the depicted life story is most of the time not a pretty sight and not for the faint of heart. The depictions of substance abuse (lighter and gas fumes) by the young Jesco White, his violent outbursts, self mutilation, up to the murders in the end of the movie... I don't know a better way to stage this in a feature film and it is supposed to be true to the life of Jesco White. Still, beware what you might be up for: could be your first walk-out in a long time.I don't regret watching this movie, though I don't know if I had gone had I known what I was up for. Besides, I was glad I could end the film festival with another movie after that... sort of to clear my mind.