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

This film is part of the Criterion Collection, spine #152.

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Goofs

George jumps into a pool to save a young boy from drowning. He swims very well. George has a condition from birth which makes it extremely dangerous for him to allow his head to get wet. He almost died once after being baptized in water. With this condition, it is highly unlikely for him to have learned to swim as well as he does.

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Quotes

Vernon: I just wish I had my own tropical island, I wish... I wish I was... I could go to China, I wish I could go out of The States... I wish I had my own planet, I wish I... I wish there were 200 of me, man... I wish I could just sit around with computers and just brainstorm all day man. I wish I was born again... I wish I could get saved and get my life through Christ... then maybe he can forgive me for what I did... I wish there was just one belief... my belief.

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Crazy Credits

Edited on Final Cut Pro

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Connections

Referenced in Love the Hard Way (2001)

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Soundtracks

The Company Car
(2000)
Written and Performed by Michael Linnen & David Wingo
Courtesy of David and Michael

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.