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      White Lightnin'

      2009 1h 24m Drama List
      81% 16 Reviews Tomatometer 72% 500+ Ratings Audience Score Dancer Jesco White (Edward Hogg) struggles with poverty, drug abuse and other ills as he strives to follow in his famous father's footsteps. Read More Read Less

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      White Lightnin'

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      Audience Reviews

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      Michael D L Edward Hogg is a modern day Peter O'Toole, both huge talents. Intense and primitive from beginning to end. Being from WV myself I can assure you there are plenty of good folk...you go around. Iconic. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 05/21/23 Full Review Audience Member Loosely inspired by the life of Jesco White, Dominic Murphy's feature film debut is a nightmarish journey into the underworld of Appalachia. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Frances H Although well-filmed with some beautiful black and white scenes, the question here is why? Why would someone who so ruined his life be glorified in a film like this? The dancing was interesting and the main reason I watched this film. I could see the connection between this form and Irish step dancing, such as Lord of the Dance, or even James Cagney's style in Yankee Doodle Dandy. But the rest of the film made Appalachia seem the haunt of just poverty (which is true} and horrendous drug use and violence (which I'm sure is not the whole story). I'm sure Jesco White's story is not unique, but I wonder if it is the rule, either. From the people we see in this film, Appalachia is a place one would want to stay as far away from as the worst slums of New York City or L.A. Between this film and Deliverance, I think native Appalachians should lobby Hollywood to give them better image. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 05/22/14 Full Review william s The early years entertaining,the middle years amussing and the last years bewildering....the end was unsatisfying Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member A demonic tragedy that is shot differently but mostly sloppily. Begins better then it ends and derails far from the true story. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/07/23 Full Review Audience Member Crazy acid trip of a movie. Its more of a horrific nightmare than anything. Insane! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      White Lightnin'

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      Critics Reviews

      View All (16) Critics Reviews
      Tom Long Detroit News There's a crazy-dirty energy to White Lightnin' that's rarely seen in films, a raw beauty and awfulness that's both scary and exciting. Rated: B+ Feb 26, 2010 Full Review Patrick Peters Empire Magazine Dominic Murphy's pseudo-biopic is as visually assured as it is audacious, but behind the slickly edited imagery, the debutant's storytelling is exposed by shallow characterisation. Rated: 3/5 Sep 25, 2009 Full Review Trevor Johnston Time Out This debut British feature weaves sundry biographical details into an awkward cross-hatch of oblique celluloid portrait and backwoods horror thriller. Rated: 2/5 Sep 25, 2009 Full Review Pamela Jahn Electric Sheep Merging real-life events and unbridled fiction, writers (and co-producers) Shane Smith and Eddy Moretti have crafted a bold, nightmarish tale of Southern darkness... Sep 27, 2017 Full Review Anton Bitel Film4 From its bleakly comic beginning to its fire-and-brimstone ending, this artful trailer-trash quasi-biopic will set your heart pounding and your feet tapping. Rated: 4/5 Sep 25, 2009 Full Review Tim Evans Sky Cinema Former commercials director Dominic Murphy has conjured up a brutally compelling tale distinguished by a manically unhinged performance from British actor Edward Hogg. Rated: 3/5 Sep 25, 2009 Full Review Read all reviews

      Movie Info

      Synopsis Dancer Jesco White (Edward Hogg) struggles with poverty, drug abuse and other ills as he strives to follow in his famous father's footsteps.
      Director
      Dominic Murphy
      Screenwriter
      Eddy Moretti, Shane Smith
      Production Co
      UK Film Council
      Genre
      Drama
      Original Language
      English
      Release Date (Streaming)
      Apr 10, 2017
      Runtime
      1h 24m
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