White Lightning

White Lightning is a terrific action/drama that tells the story of a hard-driving moonshiner named Gator McKlusky (Burt Reynolds) who is released from prison early in exchange for any help he can give the government with its case against his fellow moonshiners. Gator, however, has his own agenda and it has nothing to do with his altruistic nature. It seems that Sheriff J. C. Connors (Ned Beatty) of Bogen County is not only one of the biggest moonshiners in Arkansas, he's also responsible for killing Gator's brother. And Gator wants revenge.

One of the coolest things about White Lightning is that it presents Burt Reynolds as an actor at the top of his game. This was a Burt Reynolds who seemed to actually care about the final product and not just yucking it up with his buddies on screen. White Lightning was made before Burt became a clown, mugging for the camera. That's not to say there isn't any humor in White Lightning - it's just used judiciously. Burt is joined by phenomenal cast. In addition to Ned Beatty (who's perfect as the Sheriff), R. G. Armstrong, Bo Hopkins, Diane Lane, and Dabbs Greer give solid, memorable performances. In fact, I can't think of a single actor that bothered me. The movie was helped tremendously by the decision to film in rural Arkansas. I grew-up in the South and everything from the locations to the sweat dripping off Burt's chin had a feeling of authenticity. I've been to places like the old Kroger I spotted in the background and I sweat just like Burt in the oppressively hot Southern summers. It all felt real to me. Finally, the plot is just terrific, mixing in just the right amount of high speed car chases, brutal looking fight scenes, and dramatic conversations. It drew me in right from the start and held my attention throughout. Overall, it's a well-made, entertaining movie.

There's not a lot of depth to "White Lightning". Now this is not to say it's a bad film....there just isn't a ton of plot and much of it consists of car chases....sort of like "Bullit" set in the deep South!

When the story begins, two men are murdered out in the swamps. You soon learn that one of the dead men was Gator McKlusky's brother...and Gator wants revenge. The problem is that Gator's in prison! So, he makes a deal with the Feds....if they let him out early, he'll dig up evidence against the Sheriff who is probably behind the murders.

What follows is Gator getting in good with local moonshiners. After all, none of these folks can do this without the Sheriff's approval...as well as a piece of the action! But this goes awry, and soon Gator's racing for his life. Good thing he has a VERY fast car and he loves to drive!

This is a decent time-passer. You don't watch this one for the acting or plot (not that they are bad) but in order to watch the action...and the film is full of it. Apparently the movie did so well that two years later they made a sequel, "Gator".

Gator McKlusky who's serving time in an Arkansas prison, finds out his younger brother is murdered by the corrupt town Sheriff J.C Connors. Wanting revenge, he agrees with the terms of going undercover as a moonshine runner for the feds and informing them of any important information to put away Connors. However it's Gator's personal quest of his brother's death, which pushes him to test the boundaries and power that Connors owns.

Quite likable, and truly a thick southern slice of crudely good ol' fun and rousing mishaps. Burt Reynolds' charismatic appeal was specially made for the part, and along side him is a terrifically well-served cast including the despicable Ned Betty, glorious Jennifer Billingsley, amusing Bo Hopkins, twitchy Matt Clark, live wire Diane Ladd and a rigid R.G Armstrong. Splendid line-up, but Reynolds was the real scene-stealer. The story might be a simple revenge tale with some currents involving racism and narrow-mindlessness, but it's a exhilarating pot boiler that's neatly drawn up with plenty of flesh hanging off it, and its zips onto one scene after another with burning conviction. Look out for an enjoyable reference to Don Siegel/Clint Eastwood's southern thriller "The Beguiled (1971)". The authenticity of the sweaty southern setting is beautifully captured with Edward Rosson's sharp photography doing the trick. Be it during the quiet moments, or the well-engineered, gut-busting brawls and blistering car chases. Even Charles Bernstein's wonderfully flavoured and titillating music arrangement dominates and goes a long way to cementing the film's potent personality. Director Joseph Sargent rapidly, rough n' tumble style, goes down well the tautly wry script and delivers the action with the right intensity. Amongst the tough suspense and sweet fooling, there are some genuinely moving scenes.

Always compelling, and one of Reynolds best performances.

Although Burt Reynolds may have been more compelling in "Deliverance" (1972), he does give a fine performance in "White Lightning", as Gator McKlusky, a Southern good-ole-boy, out of prison to revenge his hippie brother's murder. And that revenge plot must, of necessity, track to Bogan County Sheriff J.C. Connors (Ned Beatty), who is involved with hillbilly whiskey stills.

Nobody could have been more convincing as a paunchy Southern redneck sheriff than Ned Beatty. Reynolds and Beatty would team up in later years to make at least two more films with a similar tone: "W.W. And The Dixie Dancekings" (1975), and "Stroker Ace" (1983). In "White Lightning", wonderful Louise Latham makes a semi-cameo appearance as Sheriff Connors' reliable secretary.

Aside from casting and acting, "White Lightning" has other things going for it, not the least of which is a realistic portrayal of a small Southern town. The authenticity, with its various bubbas who frequent the pool halls, display their guns with pride, and race cars at the local fairgrounds, is striking. And with their big engines, the film's muscle cars gleefully tear up the pavement with their screeching tires and agile corner turning.

Indeed, those cars are so souped-up they even burn rubber on dirt roads. Oh well, who cares if there's a minor sound effects plot hole. A more substantive plot hole has Sheriff Connors unfamiliar with the geography of his own county. In particular, he might want to check the map again to note the existence of a large lake at the end of one particular dirt road. Still, his ignorance is our gain as a plot point that proves symmetrically effective.

Plot holes aside, this is a film of dust, dirt, car chases, whiskey stills, the sounds of screeching tires, and some dang good performances. "White Lightning" is worth viewing also for its 1970s nostalgia, and for its authentic Southern setting.

Some people renting this expecting "Gator" style silliness are probably in for a surprise. This movie had a lot more of a "Deliverence" feeling than I expected, and felt authentic to the South of the 1970s. Ok, I wasn't there at the time, so it could be completely wrong. But it was convincing.

This is what Reynolds could have been--a middleweight serious Southern Action actor, like a cornpone Marlon Brando. There's just enough meat on the script to get the old mental wheels turning, and just enough action that it doesn't turn into one of those boring intellectual films about the Bad Ol' South. All in all, a good, interesting, tight movie.

Of course, it unfortunately led to "Gator" -- a bloated mess -- a few years later. Watching them back to back, it's pathetic to watch how Reynolds declined into a buffoon. As he showed in Boogie Nights, he's quite capable of playing serious dramatic roles. Too bad he didn't follow through on the promise of White Lightning, but I'm sure the $$$ were better for the garbage films he later made.