"White Man's Burden" is a compelling, low-key film that probably won't be remembered because of its lack of melodrama. It's a brutally realistic look at a world, where the roles are reversed: the whites are working-class people living in rough neighborhoods and the blacks are upper-class people living in mansions. There's a lot of movies that deal with racism, but this movie deals with reverse racism. Believe it or not, there is a good deal of whites who are on welfare and work in factories and have other manual jobs. And believe it or not, there is a good deal of blacks who are very wealthy and work in big business. This movie plays against all the stereotypes. And that's what I found fascinating. None of that cheesy, exploitative "White people bad/Black people good" crap. Though Harry Belafonte's character is a close-minded racist in the beginning, he develops a healthy friendship with John Travolta as the film goes on and eventually he changes his views. Just like some white people should realize that not all black people are low-class idiots, some blacks should realize that not all whites are high-class snobs. There is no such thing as a "superior race."
Travolta and Belanfonte give splendid performances. This is a fine example of Travolta's versatility as an actor. He doesn't just play the smooth-talking, chain-smoking villain. This is obviously a low-budget film, so I imagine Travolta didn't get paid much to do this movie. Kelly Lynch is compelling as his wife, and there's a very disturbing scene in which she's forced by two cops to change clothes in front of one of them.
"WMB" has a good message, but doesn't deliver it in a melodramatic, in-your-face fashion. It's a brutal, realistic, touching character study that I think most people should check out. It's one of those overlooked films that really deserved more attention.
My score: 7 (out of 10)
Travolta and Belanfonte give splendid performances. This is a fine example of Travolta's versatility as an actor. He doesn't just play the smooth-talking, chain-smoking villain. This is obviously a low-budget film, so I imagine Travolta didn't get paid much to do this movie. Kelly Lynch is compelling as his wife, and there's a very disturbing scene in which she's forced by two cops to change clothes in front of one of them.
"WMB" has a good message, but doesn't deliver it in a melodramatic, in-your-face fashion. It's a brutal, realistic, touching character study that I think most people should check out. It's one of those overlooked films that really deserved more attention.
My score: 7 (out of 10)