White Boy Rick

Director Yann Demange ('71) seems uncertain whether to play the material as searing drama or black comedy, and so he gives up on establishing a recognizable tone altogether.

When you ask yourself: "What's so special about Rick?" The answer is: not much.

The music choices inject energy, but it's difficult to care about a character who is too dumb to care about himself.

I could feel the grit under its fingernails... I quite liked it.

There's an honesty to the hardscrabble family portrait that makes it worthwhile.

The issue is not that the film focuses on a white kid, but that it doesn't seem much interested in the black lives hit disproportionately hard by the war on drugs.

The film is ultimately held together by a terrific supporting performance by Matthew McConaughey

White Boy Rick attempts to be the next great Hollywood film about the criminal underworld. But with its slow pacing and rather unpleasant cast of characters, the crime drama fails to achieve a Goodfellas-level balance of gangsterism and mordancy.

As it stands, White Boy Rick is solid, moving filmmaking, anchored by a bombastic ensemble.

While this is indeed an incredible yarn, the acting here can be hit-or-miss.