White Boy Rick (2018)
2.9 of 5 from 25 ratings
1h 51min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- Set in 1980's Detroit at the height of the crack epidemic and the War on Drugs, 'White Boy Rick' is based on the moving true story of a blue-collar father and his teenage son, Rick Wershe Jr., who became an undercover police informant and later a drug dealer, before he was abandoned by his handlers and sentenced to life in prison.
- Actors:
- Jennifer Jason Leigh, Matthew McConaughey, Eddie Marsan, Bel Powley, Bruce Dern, Rory Cochrane, RJ Cyler, Piper Laurie, Brian Tyree Henry, Brad Carter, Kyanna Simone Simpson, Taylour Paige, Jonathan Majors, Adam Hicks, Angela Cole, Derrick Gilliam, Yassie Hawkes, Gaynelle W. Sloman, Carmen Gangale, Heidi Sulzman
- Directors:
- Yann Demange
- Writers:
- Logan Miller, Noah Miller
- Genres:
- Drama
- Collections:
- A History of Films Inspired by Magazine Articles, A Brief History of Film...
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- Not released
- Run Time:
- 111 minutes
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Reviews (1) of White Boy Rick
Interesting True Crime Story - White Boy Rick review by GI
A true story crime drama with a central narrative core of a dysfunctional father/son relationship. Matthew McConaughey gives a committed and nuanced performance as Rick Snr, the father with two teenage children, daughter Dawn (Bel Powley), a heroin addict and Rick Jr (Richie Merritt), an aimless 15 year old who helps his dad with his dodgy gun sale business. Rick Snr also informs for the FBI who realise that Rick Jr has some street information and despite his age get him to inform on a gang of black drug dealers. But young Rick is seduced by the money he sees in crime and becomes a very successful drug cocaine dealer aided by his dad who sees that the money maybe their ticket to a better life! Inevitably White Boy Rick, as he becomes known on the street, gets busted and effectively dumped by the FBI. There's a strange looseness around the film's trajectory that makes it feel a little superficial. It's an interesting story in many ways but the focus of the narrative drifts around and key characters are poorly written, for example Jennifer Jason Leigh's FBI agent. Leigh gives the role her all but it just isn't scripted well. McConaughey and Merritt are particularly good together and McConaughey as the ill equipped but emotionally charged father is excellent. The film boasts Bruce Dern and Piper Laurie in small roles as Rick's grandparents. In many ways this is a sad indictment of America's society and the film highlights the shabbiness of 80s Detroit and that crime is the only route through or out of the decline. A film that isn't bad by any stretch and it does have an intriguing story but it misses opportunities.
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Critic review
White Boy Rick review by Mark McPherson - Cinema Paradiso
It’s the 1980s and Detroit has a crack epidemic. It’s not an easy time for Rick Wershe (Matthew McConaughey) to raise two teenagers. His primary way to make a living is illegally selling guns. But he soon finds himself in deep waters when the FBI investigates him. And they have the perfect undercover agent to bust him: Rick’s son, Rick Jr. (Richie Merritt). The only way that little Rick can keep daddy Rick out of prison is if he investigates the drug trade. However, getting involved with the drug trade may seem luxurious enough to throw dad to the wolves.
Loosely based on the life of Richard Wershe Jr., one of the youngest FBI informants ever, this film does a decent job of highlighting the cyclical nature of the crime. I say highlight only because this film only feels like it’s exploring an inch of a vast landscape. Rather than highlight the pointless nature that comes with the rise & fall of dealers pushed forth by the greater system of capitalism, this film merely comes off like a routine crime picture. More than it should at times.
I kept waiting for the film to take off in a big way to separate itself from the competition. That moment never comes as we watch this rough account of 1980s crime portrayed in a manner that is strangely procedural. We watch as families start to crumble. We watch as money flows in. We watch as alliances are formed and soon topple over like a house of cards. There are a lot of guns and lots of drugs. The FBI gets involved and relationships that may have once formed shattered into pieces.
Shouldn’t there be more to this? Why does the story of America’s youngest FBI informant feel so routine? I wanted to love Merritt for his performance as a young man who walks the line between life and crime. Sadly, he mostly gets drowned in the 1980s staging, in a film more concerned he looking at the part than playing the character. It’s a bit odd that the film would go on autopilot for its grimy Scarface appeal, favoring the neon allure amid the squalor that became Detroit. Even McConaughey seems to be used far too sparingly for a film such as this.
White Boy Rick is a crime film that comes up far lighter on its appeal than one might expect. If you’re in the mood for a by-the-numbers crime film with a dash of real-life inspiration and a sprinkling of 1980s nostalgia, this is a decent picture. Anybody else expecting something more than a routine romp through one man’s rise and fall through money and drugs will be let down. And I know how weird that sounds for the story of a young kid getting into this type of empire while also being an FBI formant. But, hey, even the best stories need more than a montage of fame and a fast-paced shootout to be enticing.