White Girl

Name: White Girl
Genre: Drama
Released: September 2, 2016
Duration: 88 min
Rating: 65
Cast: Adrian Martinez, Brian 'Sene' Marc, Justin Bartha, Morgan Saylor

2016

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Generally favorable reviews based on 23 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 22 Ratings

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6.4

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6.4	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 22 Ratings

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White Girl

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Movie Details & Credits

FilmRise | Release Date: September 2, 2016 | Not Rated

Starring: Adrian Martinez, Brian 'Sene' Marc, Justin Bartha, Morgan Saylor

Summary: Equipped with platinum blonde hair and a winning smile, college girl Leah (Morgan Saylor) seeks out pleasure in any form. She has two weeks before fall semester, and in between getting high with her roommate and snorting lines with her boss, she finds time to hit it off with a handsome, young Puerto Rican drug dealer named Blue. WithinEquipped with platinum blonde hair and a winning smile, college girl Leah (Morgan Saylor) seeks out pleasure in any form. She has two weeks before fall semester, and in between getting high with her roommate and snorting lines with her boss, she finds time to hit it off with a handsome, young Puerto Rican drug dealer named Blue. Within days, the two are selling dime bags to her affluent white colleagues, collecting fast cash, and living the high life. But their euphoria comes to a grinding halt once Blue is arrested and Leah’s left with a hefty amount of his coke. Does she sell it to save him or use it herself?… Expand

Director: Elizabeth Wood

Genre(s): Drama

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 88 min

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Critic Reviews

The Playlist Andrew Crump

Feb 17, 2016

It’s exciting as a raw, provocative, and vividly realized cinema of sensation. Wood doesn’t invite us to observe White Girl so much as she invites us to involve ourselves in its drama. Read full review

Stephen Holden

Sep 1, 2016

We’re all familiar with the term contact high, but not with its antithesis. Because it is so believable, White Girl is a contact bummer that’s hard to shake. Read full review

IndieWire David Ehrlich

Aug 29, 2016

Elizabeth Wood’s fire-breathing debut is an adrenalized shot of ecstasy and entitlement, a fully committed cautionary tale that’s able to follow through on its premise because — like the remarkable young actress who plays its heroine — the film is unafraid of being utterly loathsome. Read full review

Josh Kupecki

Sep 14, 2016

Playing out like some bizarro hardcore version of an episode of "Girls," Wood’s feature debut infuses a hefty dose of white privilege mixed with more than a sprinkling of gender politics, all wrapped up in a sleazy, sweaty, strung-out package that wants, no, needs you to react to the various bad decisions every character makes. Read full review

Richard Brody

Aug 30, 2016

The movie persuasively depicts the appallingly casual reduction of a woman’s body to a commodity and the oppressive inequalities of a justice system that clobbers the poor and the nonwhite into desperate submission. The power of these premises makes the movie’s vain sensationalism all the more unfortunate. Read full review

The Film Stage John Fink

Feb 17, 2016

I admire the tenacity and fearlessness of Wood to take on these issues head-on. In a playground of stripped-down indies of rough edges, encouraging sparse narratives, understatement and minimalism, Elizabeth Wood has made a film that feels fresh even if it offers little introspection and commentary on the fire that it plays with. And thus is the flaw of White Girl. Read full review

Peter Debruge

Feb 17, 2016

As much as White Girl has to offer in raw immediacy, it lacks the distance to offer much in the way of meaningful commentary, distinguishing itself (for the worse) from such earth-shaking social critics as Bret Easton Ellis and Harmony Korine. Read full review

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User Reviews

Spangle

Dec 6, 2016

A dream-like whirlwind into a world of drugs, sex, and hip-hop, White Girl is an explosive look at the ramifications of choices and the afflictions faced by youth in America today. Though highly fictionalized, White Girl depicts an absolutely wild last few weeks of summer with doing drugs,A dream-like whirlwind into a world of drugs, sex, and hip-hop, White Girl is an explosive look at the ramifications of choices and the afflictions faced by youth in America today. Though highly fictionalized, White Girl depicts an absolutely wild last few weeks of summer with doing drugs, dealing drugs, lots and lots of sex, and of course, murder. It is honestly hard to say what White Girl is truly about, other than the choices made by Leah (Morgan Saylor) coming back to her. Though it is her choice as to who to sleep with, choosing to hang around unsavory characters in all walks of life brings unsavory results to her, leaving her to put together the pieces and struggle to cope with her actions.

Starring Morgan Saylor and her nipples as Leah, the film shows her move to inner city Queens with her friend Katie (India Menuez). Two white college girls going to a decidedly liberal school and majoring in liberal arts (how white can one person get?), the duo party hard and often. After moving in, they quickly run out of weed and Leah opts to ask the local drug dealers, led by Blue (Brian Marc) if they can hook her up. What follows is a torrid romance between Blue and Leah, in which Blue plays the role of sympathetic drug dealer. A large well done character, Blue is brought to life by Marc who plays the character in duel fashion. Tough and hard on the outside, Blue melts like butter when around Leah. This is largely highlighted towards the end when he lays on her chest and cries. On the streets, he has a persona - one he opted to showcase to Leah initially - but when he is with her, he is transformed. Though this is a hardly original character, it is hard to deny the phenomenal execution of the character. Not only is he well written by Elizabeth Wood, but brilliantly acted by Marc. Though Saylor is terrific, Marc honestly stole the show.

That said, this is Saylor's show and she owns the screen. Magnetic, manic, and energetic, her portrayal of the ill-fated Leah is both tragic and often painful to watch. Though caring and deeply in love with Blue, she still sleeps around and needs to scrounge up cash to pay off a drug dealer and a lawyer. This proves tough and the film is very classic in this plotting. While White Girl is a very good film, its plot is hardly original and this certainly stands as its greatest weakness. Fortunately, there are characters such as Leah. A strong modern day woman, Leah has no shame from her action and owns them. However, her character's strength and power is no revealed until the end. After a truly traumatic experience, Leah is more reserved and withdrawn than usual. This sequence is tremendously brought to life by Saylor as you can see her struggle to keep the pain internalized and not just collapse on the floor in a pool of tears. It is honestly hard to watch with this element bolstered by Saylor's authenticity in the role.

All of this said, however, White Girl's plot is incredibly weak. Basically a "get rich because I need money now" type of movie, it is incredibly unrealistic with its portrayal of youth. Sure, there is drug use and lots of sex. However, how many young people today can raise their hands and say they found themselves in the situations that Leah did? I venture to say that not many can. However, as a character study, White Girl is undeniably brilliant. To enjoy White Girl, however, you must reserve judgment on its characters. Rather than pigeonhole a character like Leah and ask, "What makes her do these things?" The film most certainly punishes her for these actions, but they are not the point of the film. She is certainly a tragic figure and not be emulated. I am hardly justifying her actions in the film, but Leah is not a nonredeemable character. Instead, she is merely a child who has lost her way and gotten caught up in living life with new found independence. Though its situations are not authentic, this element most certainly does hit home. As a senior in college, I have seen my fair share of fellow students fail to cope with adjusting to college life and the freedom that comes as part of the deal. Leah fits this bill and, as such, White Girl is a representation, and is an exaggeration, of these types of young-adults.

Though I expected to hate White Girl and usually hate films so focused on sex, there is something inherently beautiful about this work from debut director Elizabeth Wood. Haunting, tragic, and an excellent portrayal of lost souls who have strayed from the path, White Girl rides on the shoulders of its characters, particularly Leah and Blue. With terrific performances from Morgan Saylor and Brian Marc, White Girl is a modern day tragedy, but one's enjoyment of the film solely depends on whether or not you are able to see these characters as redeemable figures.… Expand

1 of 3 users found this helpful12

netflic

Sep 20, 2016

I have mixed feelings about that movie. While watching it, several times I had an impulse to leave because the movie was quite disturbing. I am glad I did not. It grew on me, and by the movie's end I was able to appreciate sincerity of it and great acting. But I do understand those who walked out.

1 of 3 users found this helpful12

filmneek

Dec 27, 2021

A well-acted, beautifully shot film with let down by a predictable and uninteresting script. New York is the backdrop to a young woman's directionless journey of navigating life without any consequences for herself.

The characters do not develop significantly leading to boring choices andA well-acted, beautifully shot film with let down by a predictable and uninteresting script. New York is the backdrop to a young woman's directionless journey of navigating life without any consequences for herself.

The characters do not develop significantly leading to boring choices and the film is not saved by it's exploration of sex and drug-addiction, rather it makes very little statement about them.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

TVJerry

Sep 22, 2016

This is one of those low-budget indies that's more about situations than plot, using lots of earnest close-ups instead of deep character development. Morgan Saylor plays a college student who hooks up with a Puerto Rican drug dealer. That's only the beginning of her hazy experiences withThis is one of those low-budget indies that's more about situations than plot, using lots of earnest close-ups instead of deep character development. Morgan Saylor plays a college student who hooks up with a Puerto Rican drug dealer. That's only the beginning of her hazy experiences with cocaine, abusive men and the law. He gets arrested. She gets used. Yep, it's gritty, but not especially heavy. Even though she goes thru some intense episodes, her performance is not especially compelling. This film tries hard to be shocking, but lacks the punch to make it work.… Expand

2 of 3 users found this helpful21

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