White Girl (2016 film)

White Girl

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Elizabeth Wood
Produced by Gabriel Nussbaum
Written by Elizabeth Wood
Starring
Cinematography Michael Simmonds
Edited by Michael Taylor
Production
company
  • Bank Street Films
  • Killer Films
  • Supermarche
  • Greencard Pictures
Distributed by FilmRise
Release dates
Running time
 88 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $700,000[1]
Box office $200,242[2]

White Girl is an American film written and directed by Elizabeth Wood in her directorial debut. It stars Morgan Saylor, Brian Marc, India Menuez, Adrian Martinez, Anthony Ramos, Ralph Rodriguez, Annabelle Dexter-Jones, Chris Noth and Justin Bartha.

The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 23, 2016. The film was released on September 2, 2016 by FilmRise.

Plot

Leah (Morgan Saylor) is a mid western college student interning for a Magazine in New York City. Living with her roommate, her wild side takes over one night as she invites in drug dealers from her street corner. She falls in love with Blue, one of the drug dealers. After visiting Blue's supplier, Blue is arrested by an uncover officer. Leah, however, has the large package of drugs he was about to sell.

Leah sets out to sell the drugs to get Blue a lawyer. She teams up with employees from the Magazine where she interns to maximize her sales. This plan unravels as Leah's own demons consume her; causing her to lose the money from the drugs she sold, isolating her roommate and Blue's fellow drug dealers, and finally getting raped by the very Lawyer she had hoped to pay. Her suffering pays off as the Lawyer, who had sexually assaulted her, gets Blue freed from his drug charges. Blue proposes to Leah as she is the reason he was freed. However, the romance quickly ends as Blue's drug supplier appears. As Leah lost the money gained from selling the drugs, Blue ends up killing his supplier in the battle. Blue is then arrested as Leah watches in horror. The next day, she starts a new semester visibly scarred by her experiences.

Cast

Production

In February 2015, it was revealed that Elizabeth Wood had directed a film from a screenplay she wrote, with Morgan Saylor and India Menuez starring in the film.[3] Gabriel Nussbaum produced the film, while Christine Vachon, Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman produced the film under their Killer Films and Supermarche banners respectively.[4] Wood began writing the feature before attending Columbia University's screenwriting MFA program. She loosely based the film on her own life.[5]

Release

The film had its world premiere at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival on January 23, 2016.[6][7][8] Shortly after, Netflix acquired worldwide video on demand distribution rights to the film.[9] In April 2016, FilmRise acquired theatrical distribution rights to the film with a planned late summer-fall 2016 release.[10] The film was released on September 2, 2016.[11] It was released on Netflix on December 2, 2016.[12]

Reception

White Girl received positive reviews from film critics. It holds a 70% approval rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 40 reviews, with an average rating of 6.5/10.[13] On Metacritic, the film holds a rating of 65 out of 100, based on 23 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[14]

Peter Dubruge of Variety gave the film a negative review writing: "As much as White Girl has to offer in raw immediacy, it lacks the distance to offer much in the way of meaningful commentary."[15] The Hollywood Reporter called it "squalid, shocking and sexy as hell,"[16] while Vice called the film "the most explosive portrait of NYC youth since Kids."[17]

References

  1. ↑ Cirpriani, Casey (March 18, 2016). "Christine Vachon, One of Indie Film's Biggest Producers, on the Present and Future of Movies". No Film School. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
  2. ↑ "White Girl". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
  3. ↑ Lacva, Elizabeth (February 4, 2015). "COULD THE FILM 'WHITE GIRL' BE THIS GENERATION'S 'KIDS'?". openingcermony.com. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  4. ↑ Lavalee, Eric (November 26, 2015). "2016 Sundance Film Festival Predictions: Elizabeth Wood's White Girl". ioncinema.com. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  5. ↑ Cox, Gordon. "10 Directors to Watch: Elizabeth Wood Takes Intense 'White Girl' to Sundance". Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  6. ↑ "White Girl". Sundance Film Festival. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  7. ↑ "SUNDANCE INSTITUTE COMPLETES FEATURE FILM LINEUP FOR 2016 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL". sundance.org. December 7, 2015. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  8. ↑ "White Girl". Sundance Film Festival. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  9. ↑ Siegel, Tatiana (February 17, 2016). "Netflix, Amazon Continue Sundance Buying Spree With 'White Girl,' 'NUTS!' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  10. ↑ Siegel, Tatiana (April 11, 2016). "Elizabeth Wood's Sundance Drama 'White Girl' Acquired by FilmRise for U.S.". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  11. ↑ "White Girl". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved July 31, 2016.
  12. ↑ Evangelista, Chris (November 21, 2016). "What's New On Netflix December 2016". Cut Print Film. Retrieved November 21, 2016.
  13. ↑ "White Girl (2016)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  14. ↑ "White Girl". Metacritic. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  15. ↑ Dubruge, Peter (January 24, 2016). "Sundance Film Review: 'White Girl'". Variety. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  16. ↑ Felperin, Leslie. "'White Girl': Sundance Review". Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  17. ↑ Manning, Emily (March 11, 2016). "'white girl' is the most explosive portrait of nyc youth since 'kids'". Vice. Retrieved April 11, 2016.

External links

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