White Lightnin'

This is my 2009. favorite without any reconsideration. Dominic Murphy's debut is extremely powerful and complex work of Art. I got lucky to see it twice, at Berlinale and European Film Festival Palic, and both times i needed an hour to get sober after watching it. Storyline leads you trough the life of Jesco White, Appalachian step dancer, from the early childhood till the "imaginary" ritual death. Brilliant music and breathtaking performance of young Eduard Hogg makes this film unique experience. Usually i don't like watching violence on film and if someone tells you this is a slasher movie don't take him seriously. This is a story of Sins and Redemption. Evil and Divinity. Watch it!

I was very surprised by this film's quality. The directing was very well done. The aesthetic reminded me of a 90's music video, maybe Nirvana.

The edit was expertly put together. There was never a dull moment in this film. The music was layered in nicely and heightened the tension in a good way.

The acting from Edward Hogg left a lot to be desired in my opinion. It's not that he performed badly, it was a good performance of some character, but that character wasn't the embodiment of Jesco White. A Brit shouldn't have been selected for this role. They don't get the inherent hopeful humor even the darkest of us in the USA have. Brits are typically too cynical.

Jesco was way too serious in this film, even as a child. A big part of what makes Jesco cool is his nonchalant attitude. Sure, I think there is part of him that was like Hogg's rendition. I just think the character that Hogg portrayed was two dimensional. There was probably something within him that was frightened by Jesco White to fully embrace his character. In that fear he acted out what scared him of Jesco. His violence, his intensity...but where was his humor? Where was his softer side? Even when he's talking about Cilla he seems more like Charlie Manson than Jesco.

I thought Carrie Fisher did a great job as Cilla. The rest of the cast was excellent too. Even Hogg brought something meaningful to life, but there's a difference between meaning and truth. Meaning is the treatment of a symptom, truth is when many meanings come together leading to pure health.

I was born, raised and still live in West Virginia, so the lore of Jesco White was always within earshot. Knowing the stories, whether true or tall tale, I was hesitant to watch this film. Once it began, I knew I would enjoy the film, I just didn't realize how much.

Most of the stories I have heard about Jesco are from his later years, so it was refreshing and new to see a story about his childhood. I learned a lot about a person I thought I knew everything about.

The reason this film is amazing is Edward Hogg. For a British actor to take on the roll of a southern West Virginian AND to do it so convincingly, is proof of Edward's talents.

I was mesmerized by his portrayal of a man that is the personification of a terrible stereotype of West Virginians. Edward had the ability to make me feel something other than disgust for Jesco.

Besides the acting, the cinematography was excellent. I loved the desaturation of the film, where everything was almost completely black and white, but had a hint of color.

I would recommend this to anyone that wants to explore the human condition and to see deeper inside the life of a "white trash" man.

"I happen to have friends in the "deep south" and their neighbors are moonshiners. Would wake in the morning hearing shotgun blasts, killing wild turkeys? "White Lightnin' puts all the myths of the modern day hillbilly to rest." Hogg is amazing and outrageous at the same time and the cast is strong but the story as cut is just too fragmented for myself to give a slightly better than average review. The film is also too short and I think it needed more narrative to tell the story-line better. Well shot and designed with decent euphoric imagery works like a bad acid trip. Haunting and stays with you equals success for these Filmmakers. Soundtrack is very creative and original, but my only major downer was the too fast, quick cuts editorial. I look forward to this Directors future work for sure! -CSPS-Media

There is no better summary line than the quote I used from the Guardian! The quote is on the poster of the movie too, along with "rollicking terrifying trip" and "white-trash psychobilly nightmare" both by Vanity Fair, and they fit perfectly. This movie is definitely a trip.

A trip that's worth taking. A movie that you might think is more violent than it actually is. On screen violence is pretty rare, or better put not explicitly. Apart from that, the story of a man (white-trash) is almost linear, but nevertheless confusing and appalling at once.

Bottom line: You'll either love this movie (because it's not only out there, but beyond) or you will hate it, because of it's craziness! I'm not going into story details, just be warned that this isn't for the faint hearted or overly religious. You could say it offends almost everyone it can!