George Washington (2000)

A group of children, in a depressed small town, band together to cover up a tragic mistake one summer.

Director:

David Gordon Green

Writer:

David Gordon Green

Stars:

Candace Evanofski, Donald Holden, Damian Jewan Lee

9 wins & 15 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Candace Evanofski	...	Nasia
Donald Holden	...	George
Damian Jewan Lee	...	Vernon
Curtis Cotton III	...	Buddy
Rachael Handy	...	Sonya
Paul Schneider	...	Rico Rice
Eddie Rouse	...	Damascus
Janet Taylor	...	Aunt Ruth
Derricka Rolle	...	Whitney
Ebony Jones	...	Denise
Jonathan Davidson	...	Euless
Scott Clackum	...	Augie
Beau Nix	...	Rico's Father
Jason Shirley	...	Railroad Worker
William Tipton	...	Railroad Worker

Storyline

Set in a small town in North Carolina, George Washington is the story of a tight-knit multi-racial group of working-class kids caught in a tragic lie. After a twelve-year-old girl breaks up with her boyfriend for a sensitive, deeply introspective thirteen-year-old boy named George, a bizarre series of events and an innocent cover-up launches their insular group on individual quests for redemption.

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Plot Keywords:

small town | cover up | teenager | redemption | north carolina | 

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Taglines:

down this twisted road, please watch over my soul and lift me up so gently so as not to touch the ground.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 September 2001 (UK)

Also Known As:

Джордж Вашингтон

Filming Locations:

North Carolina School of the Arts - 405 W. 4th Street, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$42,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$13,335, 29 October 2000, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$241,816, 12 August 2001

Company Credits

Production Co:

Free Country U.S.A., Youandwhatarmy Filmed Challenges, Blue Moon Filmed Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min 94 min 90 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Nearly all of the actors in the film were non-professionals that had been hand-picked by David Gordon Green through random circumstances. The most interesting of these circumstances was how Green met with actor Donald Holden, who played George Richardson. Green has said that he met with Donald Holden on a beach near where he lived at the time and simply asked him to be in the film.

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Goofs

It is stated early in the film that Buddy is 13 years old, yet on his missing sign, it says he is only 10.

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Quotes

Nasia: Sometimes I smile and laugh when I think of all the great things you're gonna do. I hope you live forever.

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Crazy Credits

Edited on Final Cut Pro

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Connections

References A Day with the Boys (1969)

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Soundtracks

Positions Jenny in Dee
(2000)
Written and Performed by Andrew Gillis
Courtesy of Grammar Rodeo Records

User Reviews

Pure cinema, a masterpiece of indie filmmaking.

George Washington is the kind of film I instantly respond to for the simple reason that it is pure, perfect cinema. This is what FILM can do when free of the constraints of popular movie-making. When it ended it made me think of that old saying "a picture is worth a thousand words." Well what happens when that picture moves? You get George Washington. I don't want to spoil the film for anyone reading this by needless plot exposition that I find so annoying in most professional reviews. But the film does center around a small American town, and a group of poor children during the long, hot summer months. This film has absolutely wonderful cinematography, better than most big budget Hollywood films, and the mood it sets is alternately playful, melancholy, surreal, and poignant. Many times I was reminded of my own childhood; scenes play out in a very organic way and the actors, mostly children, are all wonderful. Before I saw this film I had heard that one of the director's influences was Terrence Malick, a filmmaker I love dearly, and George Washington reminded me a lot of Malick's "Days of Heaven." He uses voiceover in much the same way Malick did in that film...alternating between narration, random thoughts, and character exposition. The voiceover use in this film, as in Days of Heaven, is spoken the way someone might hear their own thoughts. Watch the movie and you'll see what I mean. Although the movie is about children, it's not really "for" kids, but I would venture to say that any kid from about age 12 and up would be all the richer for seeing this movie. However in this age of short attention spans, and video game editing I don't hold out much hope that many kids would appreciate a film like this. But for adults, especially lovers of the cinema, this should be required viewing. It's up to us support these kinds of movies so we can see more of them in the future. I saw this for free on the independent film channel, but I plan on buying the DVD anyway...George Washington is a film I will be proud to add to my collection. I loved it.