Films White Boy Rick

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White Boy Rick poster

Film · 2018

White Boy Rick

Directed by Yann Demange · starring Matthew McConaughey, Richie Merritt and Bel Powley

  • 1 h 51 min
  • 15
  • Crime · Drama
  • USA
  • Released in the UK 6 December 2018
  • 5.8 AverageMovieNCo
  • 5.4 Users4 votes
  • 6.2 Critics5 reviews
Watch trailer Where to watch · from £3.49 Rate it

Synopsis

'White Boy Rick' is based on a true story, following Richard Wershe Jr, a teenager who became an informant for the FBI during 80's. The young man ended up being arrested for drug-trafficking and was subsequently sentenced to life in prison. The film dictates Wershe Jr's real story, the criminal is now actually forty seven years old, but was imprisoned when he was just seventeen years old. After ending his work with the FBI, Richard Worse Junior was found with six hundred and fifty grams of cocaine. The film is directed by Yann Demange ('Top Boy'), written by Miller brothers, Logan and Noah, ('Touching Home', 'Sweetwater') and stars by Matthew McConaughey ('Dallas Buyers Club'), Jennifer Jason Leigh ('The Hateful Eight'), Bruce Dern ('Nebraska'), Bel Powley ('A Royal Night Out') and Rory Cochrane ('Argo').

Where to watch White Boy Rick

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Available now in the UK:

Availability checked on 8 November 2026.

The essentials

Runtime
111 min1 hour and 51 minutes
Budget
$29mProtozoa Pictures
Box office
$23.4m0.8 times its budget
Rating
15Suitable only for 15 years and over
How long is White Boy Rick?
1 hour and 51 minutes (111 minutes).
When was White Boy Rick released in the UK?
It was released in the UK on 6 December 2018.
Who directed White Boy Rick?
Yann Demange.
Who is in White Boy Rick?
It stars Matthew McConaughey, Richie Merritt, Bel Powley and Jennifer Jason Leigh.
Where can I watch White Boy Rick?
In the UK it is available to rent on Apple TV and Prime Video.
How much did White Boy Rick make?
It took $23.4 million in US. It cost $29 million.
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Cast

Full cast (21)
Director
Yann Demange
Writers
Noah Miller, Steve Kloves
Producers
Darren Aronofsky, Scott Franklin, Ari Handel, Georgia Kacandes

Videos and trailers

See the video
'White Boy Rick' Trailer 2:3012 June 2018

Photos and posters

All 8 photos

Reviews

All 5 reviews
5.4 4 votes

What the critics say average 6.2 from 5 outlets

  • 8.7 New York PostJohnny Oleksinski Watching this young man's life fall apart because of his destructive community and family is harrowing. Read
  • 6.2 The Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan 'White Boy Rick' is an engrossing-enough cautionary tale, if that's what it is. It's even an entertaining one, in an unsavory kind of way. Read
  • 6.0 Rolling StoneDavid Fear It doesn't turn into another 'Goodfellas' story of crime and irony, [but] isn't saying much about the Reagan-era War on Drugs that you haven't heard before. Read

Box office

Weekend by weekend
  • Budget $29m
  • US $23.4m

Soundtrack

All 24 songs
  1. Cocaine Blues (Live)Johnny Cash, Published Unichappell Music Inc, on behalf of itself, Elvis Presley Music, Inc Spotify
  2. Stop Her on Sight (S.O.S.)Edwin Starr, Published Stone Agate Music Spotify
  3. ScorpioGrandmaster Flash, The Furious Five, Published Songs of Universal, Inc, on behalf of Sugar Hill Music Publishing Ltd, Twenty Nine Black Music Spotify
  4. Beat BopRammellzee, vs, K, Rob, Published Songs of Universal Spotify

Trivia

  • Together Again

    Matthew McConaughey and Rory Cochrane once starred together in 1993's 'Dazed and Confused'.

  • Unknown

    Richie Merritt had apparently never heard of Matthew McConaughey and was oblivious to his A-list celebrity status when he agreed to do the film.

  • Crossfire

    During the last week of principal photography in Cleveland, production was briefly halted on two separate occasions due to exchanges of gunfire in neighborhoods near the set.

  • Superdetective en Detroit

    Though he's never seen in the film, a Detroit Police officer, named Gil Hill, is mentioned a couple of times during the course of the events leading up to the trial. This was the same Gil Hill who would become famous as Inspector Todd, Axel Foley's boss in the Beverly Hills Cop movies. Following his retirement from the Detroit Police Department, he went into politics as a Detroit City Councilman, and later, President of the Detroit City Council. During his time as a police officer, he was involved in the "White Boy Rick" case.

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