Jesco White uses tap dancing to keep his demons at bay. At the tender age of six, he started getting high by huffing gasoline and stolen lighter fluid. Growing up, Jesco often found himself shuffling between reform schools, work camps, and his home in West Virginia-until his father, famous mountain dancer D. Ray White, taught him how to tap.
The film is shot in black and white, this effect is used to great effect in 'White Lightnin'. The black and white is mixed with a very slight colour tint at times, notice the scene which Jesco confronts a group of bullies and the switch knife he is holding is blue and the rest of the shot in still in black and white. This gives the film an overall impressive cinematography feel.
Eward Hogg is fine as the lead, giving a convincing unhinged performance where you don't quite know when he will turn from a nice talented dancer to a violent individual. Also a special note must go to Owen Campbell who is impressive as the young Jesco. Sadly the only other character to get a worthy part is Carrie Fisher who is value for money as the the wife who abandons her family to party with the laudably unbalanced Hogg.
The odd ball quality is somewhat miss leading, with the film sometimes shooting off into madness, the closing section of the film a prime example of this. Also the narration can get a bit too dependent on telling the story. Still these are minor irritations to an otherwise interesting at times and individual piece of cinema.
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