Movie Man Darian Watching All Night Long

White Boy Rick

This film terrific! This film is based on a true story and is very well told on the big screen. The film right off the bat intrigues you by the shocking true premise and layered ontop with fantastic performances most notably Matthew McConaughey and his supporting turn in this film and first time actor Richie Merritt who showcases fantastic acting chops in the centre role. 

First off, the things I liked about the film was the performances shown in the film. The best part and most enjoyable part for me was Matthews performance shown at the full front of this movie. He isn’t in the film that much he’s definitely a supporting player in the film but he gives an outstanding turn in this film. And when he’s not onscreen you want to see more because he’s so damn entertaining to watch. And as well as the main actor Richie Merritt who gives a very strong lead performance and I was stunned to find out that it was his first film ever and I was incredibly impressed of how strong he was in the film having no acting experience at all and he dose a very fine job in the film. So the best aspect of the film for me was the two central performances showcased in the film. 

The things that did bug me was the pacing and how it felt very low on substance I’ll explain. In the film it starts off very slow and then picks up halfway into it then it slows down again so the film was constantly shifting gears on its pacing and by the end of the film it felt long and I shouldn’t have to feel that way when I watch a film. The movie is a slowly paced film it could of picked up where it was slow and it could of slowed down at parts where it going to fast so that was an issue. The second portion was this really shocking story gives you information on what went down but it scratches the surface and doesn’t really delve deep when it could of benefited from going deeper into detail as it made me feel like I didn’t really know the full story so that bothered me. 

but if you were expecting a Scarface stylish rise and fall chronicling of a criminal this isn’t that at all. The film has those elements but it’s more about how this boy who was raised in a very poor family in a very broken home joins the crime world and selling drugs and being a informant for the FBI. It isn’t your typical Crime films where it’s over the top violence it’s at the heart of it a dysfunctional family and then the choices he makes and the people he gets himself associated with ends him in prison. It was refreshing to see a different take on the crime drama instead of the same thing we see all the time but that’s the thing don’t go in expecting a over the top violent mafia film as it’s not that all but takes a different route with the story which could appeal to some and some may not like but I thought it was interesting. 

Overall this film has its fair share of flaws due to the pacing and lack of depth of the subject at hand. But it’s the performances and the approach to it that is worth watching White Boy Rick is definitely a film I’d recommend people to check out. 

This film is based on a true story and centres around a young man who’s 15 named Ricky and lives with his dad who is a gun dealer and he himself delves into Drugs and crime which gets him involved with the FBI as an informant and untimely in prison 

Rated R : for language throughout, drug content, violence, some sexual references, and brief nudity

Ritchie Merritt : What a solid performance from Ritchie! This boy has not acted in any film prior to this or had any acting training so after I saw what he gives in this film I’m interested to see what is next for him. He plays the centre role of this film and gives a fantastic breakout performance as Ricky in the film. He brings such truth and emotion to his portrayal of this guy. Their are great moments that he shines fanatically onscreen. He also was great at delivering his dialogue and making you believe he meant what he said he really soaks up this guy and commits all the way. He has a fantastic range of emotion as well theirs moments where he’s so frustrated and angry you can see from the look in his eye and the sound of his voice and then the next he could be so fragile and just cry and totally melt emotionally in a scene and the amount of depth and layers Ritchie brings to the role is amazing. He gets you to invest in the character and also sit back and watch a truly fantastic performance that he’s delivering at hand. He impressed me with his work here and I can’t wait to see what he dose next as he have a tremendous lead performance that is very strong and compelling to watch. 

Matthew McConaughey : Matthew delivers a scene stealing supporting performance in this film! Matthew is absolutely marvellous in this film and damn You can’t take your eyes off of him. He plays the father of Rick and is very attached to his son and wants to be their for him but he also is selling firearms and doesn’t always have the best judgment as a father but his heart is in the right place. And the way Matthew shows that onscreen is fantastic because he brings such complexity to him and such depth and layers of emotion he’s more then just what he seems at first glance. Throughout the film Matthew’s character evolves and goes through a change and becomes more serious by the end of it and it also is great for Matthew because it gives him more ground he can cover and give more emotional depth to the person he’s playing and he shows it greatly. Their are some moments where he can have a dry sense of humour and it comes across as funny but for the most part he just wants his family to be happy. And the end result is not pretty and Matthew is emotionally gutted by the end because his son is behind bars and theirs a scene that will bring you to tears because Matthew in that scene is so wrapped up in the moment he is giving his absolute all and delivers his dialogue in such truth and you can see the look in his eyes and the tears streaming down his face how real he is and it will have you sobbing. Matthew just knocks it out of the park giving one of his strongest performances in the last while and isn’t in the film as much as other actors but he makes the most of his screen time and dominates the screen. Theirs even moments where he isn’t talking and conveys such strong emotion just from his actions and his face and it’s just a marvellous performance by Matthew. He also shares amazing chemistry with his co stars and you really believe they are a family overall Matthew is truly outstanding in this film giving a brilliant supporting turn in this film. 

Yann Demange : Yann gives decent direction that could of been stronger! This filmmaker I have not seen his previous work prior to seeing this film but after seeing what he did here I would watch his future projects for sure. What I liked what he did here was his ability to give us something new with the Crime genre and really showcase the family aspect and why the boy did what he did and show lots of backstory to why he ends up where he dose. I thought that approach was smart I also thought it was smart that it was in a lot of ways a family drama and how it can easily lead to bad choices from a broken home I thought that was well done. As well as getting fantastic performances from his cast as well. The problems I had though was I get he wanted to make it gritty and dark but he never really elaborates on the subject matter he scratches the surface and it could of benefited greatly if he delved a lot deeper into the details of what happened. Because I felt like I heard half of the story and not all of it as it felt rushed at times and skips over a good amount of years in the film. If it slowed down and told more detail I think it would of been a lot better in its execution of its story at hand. That’s the biggest flaw I had and it also would of had been stronger direction too instead it was just decent direction. Overall Yann gives good direction that would of been better but some fixes to the story.