Taglines: Hustler. Informant. Kingpin. Legend.
The film opens to a gun show in Toledo, Ohio the year 1986. Rick Wershe Jr. (Richie Merritt) is a teenager examining some AK-47 automatic rifles for sale and negotiating a price with the dealer. He notices that the gun has details consistent with Egyptian-made AK-47s, unlike the Russian-made ones the dealer claims he’s selling.
He calls his father, Richard ‘Rick’ Wershe Sr. (Matthew McConaughey), over to confirm his suspicions and they blackmail the dealer into giving them a heavy discount in exchange for not ratting him out and costing him his license. The father and son then head home to Detroit, Michigan. Richard is talking about how they’re both lions in a world of sheep. Richard is a small-time arms dealer who dreams of opening a video rental store one day. Rick is his 15-year-old son who seems to just go with the flow.
When they return home, they see another car parked in their driveway. Both Richard and Rick recognize it as Ty’s car. They get out of the car, and Richard pulls out one of the AK-47s and bursts in the house to his daughter, Dawn (Rick’s older sister), making out with her boyfriend, Ty. Richard immediately guesses she’s high and kicks Ty out of the house, with Dawn (Bel Powley) running out of the house to chase after him in her underwear. Their grandparents (who live right across the street) pull up just in time to see the whole event. Richard calms the situation down, and they go out for custard.
Later that night, Richard is finishing up crafting silencers for the AK-47s and explaining to Rick about the concept of “up-selling.” Rick uses this new knowledge to sell the AK-47s to some local gang members that he’s familiar with. He makes a huge profit by up-selling them on the silencers and earns some respect from the gang’s leader, Johnny Curry. Rick starts hanging with them and partying at a local roller skating rink that is frequented by the gang and corrupt cops.
White Boy Rick is a 2018 American biographical crime drama film directed by Yann Demange and written by Andy Weiss, and Logan and Noah Miller. Based on a true story, the film stars Richie Merritt as Richard Wershe Jr., who in the 1980s became the youngest FBI informant ever at the age of 14. Matthew McConaughey, Bel Powley, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Brian Tyree Henry, Rory Cochrane, RJ Cyler, Jonathan Majors, Eddie Marsan, Bruce Dern, and Piper Laurie also star.
The film premiered at the Telluride Film Festival on August 31, 2018 and was released in the United States on September 14, 2018, by Sony Pictures Releasing. It received mixed reviews from critics and has grossed $25 million.
White Boy Rick (2018)
Directed by: Yann Demange
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Richie Merritt, Bel Powley, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Brian Tyree Henry, Rory Cochrane, RJ Cyler, Jonathan Majors, Eddie Marsan, Bruce Dern, Piper Laurie
Screenplay by: Andy Weiss, Logan Miller
Production Design by: Stefania Cella
Cinematography by: Tat Radcliffe
Film Editing by: Chris Wyatt
Costume Design by: Amy Westcott
Set Decoration by: Jon J. Bush
Art Direction by: Audra Avery, Bryan Felty, Laura Obiols
Music by: Max Richter
MPAA Rating: R for language throughout, drug content, violence, some sexual references, and brief nudity.
Distributed by: Columbia Pictures
Release Date: September 14, 2018
Visits: 45
