“White Boy Rick” is a true story about a boy who became the youngest informant for the FBI at the tender age of 16 years. Matthew McConaughey plays the main protagonist Rick Wershe as senior Wershe and newcomer Richie Merritt as the junior Wershe.
The premiere of the flick was premiered at the Telluride Film Festival on August 31, 2018. The film will hit the screens in the US on September 14, 2018, and will be released by Sony Pictures Releasing.
The informant turned drug peddler
The flick is set in the early 80s when the DEA and FBI embarked on a crackdown on Drugs.
The flick is based on an incredible and moving true story of a working-class father and his teenage son who had the distinction of being the youngest FBI informant.
The adolescent boy later himself became a drug dealer and was dropped like a hot potato by the FBI. He was arrested and sentenced to a life term. He was finally released after spending more than 30 years in prison.
The film is honest but leaves out state sins
The film has been generating rave reviews and getting both bouquets as well as brickbats. Despite an impressive performance by both Matthew McConaughey and newcomer Richie Merritt who play the main character, the flick falls short of expectations.
I enjoyed White Boy Rick a lot. Very entertaining and engaging but also has a ton of heart. A breakout performance by Richie Merritt and Matthew McConaughey hasn’t been this good in years! Highly recommended. #WhiteBoyRick #Telluride18 pic.twitter.com/oFrXLeyTQj
— Scott Menzel @ TIFF (@TheOtherScottM) September 3, 2018
One of the main drawbacks of the flick is that it does take most of the incidents; it does not evoke any iota of sympathy for the main protagonist.
What ultimately happened to the main character is undoubtedly a matter for study by social scientists, and the makers of the flick have neglected this aspect.
What ultimately happened to Wershe is nothing new, and there are similarities to the story of most spies and informants who often find themselves on the wrong side of the law once their utility ends.
Hustler. Dealer. Kingpin. Informant. #WhiteBoyRickMovie – Based on the true story. Only in theaters this Fall. pic.twitter.com/n3g3rGo0R5
— White Boy Rick (@WhiteBoyRick) June 4, 2018
Numerous spies and informants are languishing in prisons because their runners dropped them after their productive lives ended. Richard Wershe Jr was the longest serving juvenile prisoner in the history of Michigan.
He was convicted for possessing 650 gms of Cocaine and sentenced for life.
The flick is projected to gross in the range of $5–9 million in its opening weekend. On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 58 out of 100, based on seven critics, indicating mixed or average reviews.
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