White Lightnin’ (2008)

Directed by: Dominic Murphy | 84 minutes | drama | Actors: Edward Hogg, Stephanie Astalos-Jones, Kirk Bovill, Owen Campbell, Carrie Fisher, Stephen Lester, Wallace Merck, Damian Samuels, Clay Steakley, Allison Varnes, Raymond Waring, Muse Watson

“White Lightnin” is set in the white trash (lower) class in rural West Virginia. This group often lives under poor conditions in the well-known trailer parks and is known for its rather violent lifestyle and rough ‘demeanor’. It is a ‘spicy’ film with sometimes strong images, but also with a lot of pitch-black and absurd humor that pokes fun at the situations in the story. Stereotypes are not avoided, this rural population is considered to be stupid and ugly and various characters are almost made into caricatures. However, it does work in a mood setting. This is a typical film that finds its way within the film festival world. You either love it or it hardly appeals to you, there is no in-between.

The film is inspired by a true story, but the person and events in the film are otherwise fictional. The film is told in the widely used form of the flashback. Jesco is the son of a mountain dancer (a kind of tap dance). Jesco is difficult to train, derails at a young age, sniffs petrol and lighter fuel. His father corrects him with a heavy hand and does not shy away from any harsh means. Jesco ends up in a strict educational institution, where he soon learns to hold his own. The foundation for a more or less dramatic life has been laid. Later he ends up in labor camps and an institution for people with psychological problems. Despite these somewhat melancholy-sounding stories, the pitch-black humor in these events is refreshing.

During his stay in the institution, his father is brutally murdered by – how could it be otherwise – more or less drunken villagers. Jesco (played convincingly by Edward Hogg) vows revenge, but at the same time meets a new love, a blond flame, Cilla (a great portrayal of Carrie Fisher) who suddenly leaves her husband and children behind and moves with Jesco, who is now in his twenties. followed in father’s footsteps. They lead a raw life full of booze and travel, but Cilla is homesick for her children. When Jesco (literally) goes overboard again, she abandons him. Jess goes crazy, runs amok and goes on a hunt for his father’s killers. The dramatic events then follow one another in quick succession. Hell and damnation, also in several striking thunder sermons, are inevitable.

The casting of the film is fine, the rural population is portrayed (sometimes perhaps even too) convincingly. The film is edited ‘quickly’ with relatively short scene changes. The film is presented in beautiful pale and faded colors, with an accentuating color tone here and there, enhancing the atmosphere of the film. The soundtrack provides special support. A touch of horror, a lot of pitch-black humour, atmospheric black-and-white images, raw people who consume a lot of booze and images of white trash in trailer parks make this a film that does not try to please, but that really is a film for the lover of the genre.