# White Girl (2016 film)
**White Girl** is a 2016 American drama film written and directed by Elizabeth Wood, in which a hard-partying New York college freshman named Leah ([Morgan Saylor](https://www.edgepedia.org/morgan-saylor)) tries to get a drug dealer, Blue (Brian "Sene" Marc), out of jail after his arrest for possession.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/white_girl) It was Wood's first feature, premiered in competition at the 2016 [Sundance Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/sundance-film-festival), and was later acquired by Netflix.[2](https://www.bankstreetfilms.com/about)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Written and directed by | Elizabeth Wood, her feature debut; produced by Gabriel Nussbaum[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/white_girl) |
| Festival premiere | Sundance 2016, U.S. Dramatic Competition; nominated for the Grand Jury Prize[3](https://www.filmaffinity.com/en/film270535.html) |
| Principal cast | Morgan Saylor (Leah), Brian "Sene" Marc (Blue), Justin Bartha (Kelly), Chris Noth (George), Anthony Ramos (Kilo)[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/white_girl) • [4](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/white-girl-2016) |
| Release | Limited theatrical release September 2, 2016; distributed by FilmRise[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/white_girl) |
| Runtime and budget | 88 minutes; budget of $700,000[5](https://www.netflixmovies.com/white-girl-2016) |
| Box office | $200,242 worldwide[6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4129870) |
| Reception | 70% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (50 reviews); Metascore 65; IMDb rating 5.7/10[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/white_girl) • [7](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/white-girl/critic-reviews/) |
## Spoilers
### Plot and subject
The film is set over a summer in New York City. Leah, a college freshman with dyed platinum-white hair, lives in the about-to-be-gentrified neighborhood of Ridgewood, Queens, and falls for Blue, a young drug dealer who works the corner beneath her apartment window. Within days the two are selling drugs to her boss Kelly ([Justin Bartha](https://www.edgepedia.org/justin-bartha)) and his downtown friends. When Blue is arrested for possession, Leah is left holding a large quantity of his cocaine and, deep in debt after hiring an expensive lawyer ([Chris Noth](https://www.edgepedia.org/chris-noth)), crosses legal and personal boundaries to get him out of jail.[4](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/white-girl-2016) • [8](https://www.fandango.com/white-girl-190431/movie-overview)
The film is an exploration of race, gender, class, and drug culture. Reviewers noted that Leah's whiteness repeatedly changes how situations play out: as critic Katie Walsh wrote, "bodies of color are judged, contained and restrained, while Leah enjoys the affordances granted her simply by the way that she looks."[9](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-indie-focus-toronto-film-festival-20160911-snap-story.html) [The New Yorker](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-new-yorker) described the film as depicting "the appallingly casual reduction of a woman's body to a commodity and the oppressive inequalities of a justice system that clobbers the poor and the nonwhite into desperate submission."[10](https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/movies/white-girl-2)
## Origins and production
**Autobiographical roots.** Wood loosely based the film on her own experiences as a college student in New York, drawing on journal entries from that period; she began writing the screenplay before entering Columbia University's film MFA program, where she received a screenwriting fellowship.[4](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/white-girl-2016) • [11](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4129870) • [5](https://www.netflixmovies.com/white-girl-2016) Born and raised in [Oklahoma City](https://www.edgepedia.org/oklahoma-city), she moved to New York to study writing at [The New School](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-new-school) before turning to film.[2](https://www.bankstreetfilms.com/about) • [12](https://www.sundance.org/blogs/sex-drugs-and-a-whole-lot-of-privilege-in-white-girl-3/)
The film was the first narrative feature of Bank Street Films, the New York production company founded by Wood and Gabriel Nussbaum, made in association with Killer Films and Supermarché.[2](https://www.bankstreetfilms.com/about) • [13](https://www.bankstreetfilms.com/) Nussbaum also co-edited the film, with Michael Taylor; Michael Simmonds was the cinematographer.[14](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4129870/fullcredits/) • [4](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/white-girl-2016) At Sundance 2016 the film drew attention as, in Fandango's marketing, "the most controversial film at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival."[8](https://www.fandango.com/white-girl-190431/movie-overview) Wood was named one of Variety's "10 Directors to Watch" in 2016.[2](https://www.bankstreetfilms.com/about)
## Release and reception
FilmRise gave the film a limited theatrical release on September 2, 2016, followed by streaming release in December 2016; Rotten Tomatoes dates the streaming release to December 18, while IMDb lists a U.S. release date of December 1 and Moviefone lists December 2 for the digital and disc release.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/white_girl) • [6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4129870) • [15](https://www.moviefone.com/movie/white-girl/20084377/where-to-watch/) The film grossed $200,242 worldwide against a $700,000 budget, with an opening weekend of $34,058.[6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4129870) • [5](https://www.netflixmovies.com/white-girl-2016)
Critical response was divided but leaned positive. On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 70% Tomatometer from 50 reviews, with a critics consensus calling it "not an easy watch" but praising Wood's assured debut; the audience score was 45%.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/white_girl) Metacritic assigned a Metascore of 65, based on 13 positive and 10 mixed reviews with no negative reviews among the 23 counted.[7](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/white-girl/critic-reviews/) The strongest reviews came from [The Playlist](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-playlist) (91), The New York Times (90), and the Los Angeles Times (90), where Justin Chang praised Wood's "sharply observant social critique" delivered through a "throbbing, surging soundtrack" and propulsive camera movement.[7](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/white-girl/critic-reviews/) More skeptical critics included Variety's Peter Debruge, who wrote that the film "lacks the distance to offer much in the way of meaningful commentary," and the [New York Post](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-york-post), which called it "good-looking but tonally dubious."[16](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/white-girl/)
Some reviewers criticized the film's handling of its Latino characters; a Rotten Tomatoes audience review argued that the film uses them "as props and stereotypes."[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/white_girl) Sheila O'Malley's review for RogerEbert.com found the supporting characters thin but singled out Blue, played by Brian Marc, as the character with the film's only moral compass.[4](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/white-girl-2016)
## Legacy
The film has been compared to [Larry Clark](https://www.edgepedia.org/larry-clark)'s 1995 film *[Kids](https://www.edgepedia.org/kids-film)*, which it references, for its portrayal of New York as a place where privileged, unmonitored young people fall through the cracks.[4](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/white-girl-2016) After its Netflix acquisition it circulated widely on streaming; as of late 2026 it streams in the United States on Amazon Prime Video, the Shout! Factory Amazon Channel, and free ad-supported services including Tubi, and is no longer on Netflix.[17](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/white-girl) • [15](https://www.moviefone.com/movie/white-girl/20084377/where-to-watch/)
## References
1. [White Girl | Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/white_girl)
2. [About — Bank Street Films](https://www.bankstreetfilms.com/about)
3. [White Girl (2016) - Filmaffinity](https://www.filmaffinity.com/en/film270535.html)
4. [White Girl movie review & film summary, RogerEbert.com](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/white-girl-2016)
5. [White Girl (2016) on Netflix, NetflixMovies.com](https://www.netflixmovies.com/white-girl-2016)
6. [White Girl (2016) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4129870)
7. [White Girl critic reviews - Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/white-girl/critic-reviews/)
8. [White Girl Movie Tickets & Showtimes | Fandango](https://www.fandango.com/white-girl-190431/movie-overview)
9. [Indie Focus: Getting wild with Toronto, Jerry Lewis and 'White Girl', Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-indie-focus-toronto-film-festival-20160911-snap-story.html)
10. [White Girl | The New Yorker](https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/movies/white-girl-2)
11. [White Girl (2016) - IMDb full cast & crew](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4129870/fullcredits/)
12. [Sex, Drugs, and a Whole Lot of Privilege in 'White Girl', Sundance.org](https://www.sundance.org/blogs/sex-drugs-and-a-whole-lot-of-privilege-in-white-girl-3/)
13. [Bank Street Films](https://www.bankstreetfilms.com/)
14. [White Girl (2016) - IMDb full credits](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4129870/fullcredits/)
15. [White Girl - Where to Watch, Stream, Rent, or Buy | Moviefone](https://www.moviefone.com/movie/white-girl/20084377/where-to-watch/)
16. [White Girl Reviews - Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/white-girl/)
17. [White Girl streaming: where to watch movie online? | JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/white-girl)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Drama and biographical films (individual works) › Drama films 2015 to 2019 › Drama films 2015 and 2016 › Released in 2016*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license