White Rabbit (I) (2013) User Reviews (16)

Not great.

[xilliosta · 5/10 · 5 November 2014]

This film emulates so many films that involve a similar subject matter, and yet somehow fails to capture the same wonderful elements of it's predecessors.

Perhaps one of the biggest flaws right off the bat is the quality of acting, particularly with the younger actors. One thing struck me during my viewing of this film, and that was how the leads looked more like Hollywood teens, and less like something you'd find in the backwoods where this is all taking place. I think it's very likely that the casting for this film revolved more around aesthetics than it did acting ability, which is a shame because much of this movie relies on the lead being able to convey his gradual build-up of rage and anxiety, and unfortunately falls quite flat in this regard.

So with the lead and the love interest just not up to par, this instantly undercuts a lot of the film outright. On top of that the build-up itself, which is just a few instances of your various 'High school sure if ruff' vignettes also leaves something to be desired. The pacing feels off with it. As in the intensity of each little scene does not constantly build, but rather wavers, ebbs and flows between mundane and tragic.

Though really the tragic thing is how much visible potential this film had. A lot could have been done with it, but what was done was not done well. When there're so many great films out there that tackle such difficult subject matter, it becomes really difficult to recommend this one.

Good entertaining movie

[deloudelouvain · 7/10 · 10 May 2016]

I thought we were going to have a rip off of Donnie Darko when I saw the title of the movie but apart of the main character having visions and hallucinations it's not comparable. In White Rabbit the main character Harlon Mackey played by Nick Krause is getting bullied at school, has not a lot of friends, and even at home things are not particularly good. After a day hunting with his father he is traumatized when he had to shoot a defenseless white rabbit. From that point he's starting hallucinating, hearing voices speaking to him from his favorite comic book. I thought Nick Krause did a good job with his character. And the other actors were all good as well. The story is entertaining and is an example of a lot of things that go wrong in the education of kids in the United States. Teaching your kids to shoot guns at their young age, buying them guns as a present, prayer groups before going to school etc, all things that will mess up a kid if he's borderline disturbed. Kids that are getting bullied, that are outcasts in their school, it's not a good idea to give them guns as a present. And that's why in America you get shootings at schools etc... Things that you almost never see in Europe. I did enjoy the movie, especially the acting of Nick Krause.

And if you go chasing rabbits. And you know you're going to fall...

[rls154 · 7/10 · 31 October 2014]

With the image of a demonic bipedal white rabbit still imprinted on some of our minds, we are now introduced to a quadrupedal white/albino eastern cottontail, with less than angelic influential motivations reaped upon our teenage deviant. Although somewhat darker in nature than the bipedal rabbit, this one gives us homicidal urges rather than precognitive events (one could argue that observation) and pyromaniac tendencies. And if one is familiar with Swedish (and botched Hollywood clones) of a similar genre the: "fight back" scene may also seem familiar to some.

When I was a youngster, my sister was driven by my mom for her weekly ballet lessons, my other sibling was taught signing, my little brother labored under his ventriloquist instructor. Me - I was dropped off at the public library to diligently study books about rabbit hunting, got about 3/4s of the way down the rabbit hole before I found my way out. Most likely the reason for this review.

Schizoid bullied teenagers aren't a good fit with 10 gauge double barrels

[deadbull-95171 · 6/10 · 11 December 2020]

Better then I thought. Topical in an age when mass killing sprees are just another day in this ruined country. The film has decent character development, and plausibility, though the lead's final rage lacks the buildup you'd expect. In the "Joker", the developing psychosis is explored and the final rage explosion is anticipated. We know it 'll happen here too because the scripting allows no other possibility. It's well scripted, the supporting roles have more acting then the lead, and his relative lack of passion could be ascribed to a feature of schizoid dissociation, but movies like this play to an audience largely unversed in the subtler symptomology of psychotic and abused children. They CAN be emotionally dead. Yet his actions contradict emotional deadness, they are in fact driven and passionate, it's just the depth that's missing in what is largely an actorly film far more then a bang-bang flick. Still, it has enough coherence and integrity to more then hold your interest....disaster is imminent and stressed and inferred all the time....and the only part that confused me was the "revelation" about the lead's best friend, which sort of retrospectively authenticates his craziness which has already been established in other ways many times over.. But it is a craziness cleverly fused with many of the motives of a very normal teenager, the conflicts, the compulsion to obey an abusive parent, the initially suppressed reaction to the bullying..... So, a n interesting mixture of things here......worth it.

Poor attempt to describe serial killers' personality

[ivan_dmitriev · 4/10 · 18 January 2024]

Which passes off like a movie lionising Jeffrey Dahmer, really, and much more so than the recent TV series.

Poor casting of what looks like 30- and 40-something pretending at playing teens does the movie a disservice completely taking the viewer out of the movie. A lot of the scenes are laughable and not in a good way, because of that, some scenes are completely beyond belief, because of the differences of how people think and act in their teen age, here the producers didn't make an effort to actually research the pedestrian subject of life of high school teens and seemingly didn't even want to.

A cringy imitation of the "deep" and "psychological" movies of the 90ies, without substance, with the (still very minimal) gore and stylized violence of the 2010s searching for a meaning, which won't come until the 2020ies , a transitional period, for movies, and for society too. 4/10.

Powerful and topical

[mrizzer-1 · 10/10 · 20 November 2014]

There are some issues in this country that continually get brushed over in the hopes they will never grow as a problem. School shootings are one of these issues. They are disturbingly unique to this country and have increased in frequency. This movie does the best job yet of tackling a very difficult subject that shouldn't be dismissed. The film is artfully directed by Tim McCann. It has a documentary like power that brings to mind ' Z' directed by Costa-Gavras, but is much harder to watch than that piece shot in the 60s. White Rabbit is contemporary, unvarnished, and brutal. This film reminds you that mental illness has many faces and continues to be misunderstood and evaded as a root cause of these shootings. I've looked over McCann's filmography and he has a legacy of socially relevant films tackling the most difficult subjects. Very courageous and inspiring in an era where we cannot rely on the media to properly weight the right issues.

Rise up and be the better man

[LiamBlackburn · 9/10 · 3 November 2014]

Harlon's life is dominated by an emotionally-abusive father. He gets picked on at school. He has almost no friends. He is failing his courses. He doesn't quite fit in to his world. He grows more and more reclusive and his only solace is found in the comic books he reads. Soon it starts to become apparent that Harlon will reach a boiling point in his life. Luckily, a fallen angel appears, and ends up reminding him of the little rabbit he couldn't (didn't want to) kill when he was young. The end result is that he finds the compassion that he had lost from when he was a child. I was really satisfied with the end of the movie. I hope people who watch this give it a chance and see the bigger picture.

Very enjoyable and unique

[SillyGayBoy · 10/10 · 11 October 2015]

Growing up can be tough. It is even more tough as men when we are sensitive, and things can just get to us so much. Bullying tactics might be enough to have us cry and just have different meltdowns of sorts. I believe this is the core theme of this movie.

In life we have challenges and we can rise above them and be better then them or we can let them crush our soul.

Watching bullying movies can be hard for me and yet so relatable although the movie is only about bullying in part I believe it to be one of the central themes. It makes me angry inside seeing bullying but for me I just sympathize with it so much due to my own experiences.

In life we have to be tough but kids do not always know how. In small town living there is not much to do but people have fun doing what people have always been known to do.

Very interesting directing, use of filter, acting, writing, the story flows in an interesting way, and the topics throughout the film are extremely relevant.

There are things with the film I will not talk about, as the story changes in interesting ways throughout the film.

I bumped into this on the "trending now" section on Netflix streaming and I was glad I did. It also has Sam from True Blood in it who I always liked. He plays a real masculine no nonsense type dad.

Well Thought Out Film on an increasingly relevant subject

[sgcim · 8/10 · 5 October 2015]

Well done movie about a subject that is affecting everyone in the US, whether it's in HS, college or the workplace. Rather than being a 'Columbine rip-off', it's a detailed look into the mind of someone who might or might not erupt into a mass murder spree.

Well acted, filmed, directed and scored, the filmmakers should be proud that they made a serious treatment of this subject, and not a comic book version like "Almost Mercy", a film we saw right before White Rabbit.

Ironically, "Almost Mercy" received a higher rating on IMDb than this film, probably because it had more gore, violence and sensationalism than this film contained. While Almost Mercy had a few nice comedic touches, you better hope you're not around when someone decides to follow the advice that film seemed to be giving out...

Distressing and powerful

[paolabrambi · 9/10 · 21 January 2015]

The story of a terribly introverted boy who lives mostly in his head,since reality is too hard for him. He has really too few things that made his life barely acceptable, and he loses them one after the other. He is left with his distressing memories and his loneliness; his only escape valve- his comics- are taken away from him by a a father that try too late to regain his parental function. The settings perfectly highlight Harlon's life and falling into desolation. Especially great scenes were shot at the abandoned warehouse: a rusty, run-down and deserted place where Harlon in some way can be himself and can be together with his newborn love. To be watched.

topical really good dark movie

[adolfo-21 · 9/10 · 25 November 2014]

i have a 14 year old kid who is a high school freshman this year. this movie has an insight into that world that is raw and scary. every parent's fear. mental illness, bullying, violence… the minefield a young boy has to dodge all alone inside his head just to get through to the other side. remarkable, good stuff. highly recommend it. i have a 14 year old kid who is a high school freshman this year. this movie has an insight into that world that is raw and scary. every parent's fear. mental illness, bullying, violence… the minefield a young boy has to dodge all alone inside his head just to get through to the other side. remarkable, good stuff. highly recommend it.

Unique and Outstanding experience!

[truecrimethemovie · 10/10 · 5 February 2015]

This film was totally refreshing from all the big studio movies i saw recently.

Never thought that with a small budget so many things can be achieved.

It is filled with amazing cinematography, which captures the atmosphere and sets the mood with every scene, all pleasing to the eyes. Camera work was brilliant from many angles and close ups.

Directing done with a huge precision and professionally made transitions.

Beautiful musical score - visually combined with the film makes it a joy listening to.

Screenplay was also great which is translated into the film with good pacing and performances which all felt natural and were enjoyable to watch.

I was never a big fan of indie films, the reason i saw White Rabbit is mainly because of it's subject, but i got so much more. A big surprise.

A film about redemption and much more

[maat-33737 · 10/10 · 5 April 2016]

A strong story that touches some very delicate and striking points: the fragility of children and how something, like the bullying, can trigger a terrible action when it is combined with a mental impairment in progress.

While it is true that the bullying is not the cause of the final action in the film, this is largely a catalyst and, in the end, what turns out to be the trigger is a heartbreak. But bullying and a broken heart is not enough to turn you into a killer, there is something deeper in the mind. A childhood with huge emotional conflicts; as underestimation, frustration, anger and helplessness and loneliness, can lead a fragile person, and with a broken psyche, to a total detachment to others with a fatal outcome.

In the end, the vulnerability of the girl (the character portrayed by Britt Robertson) and the memory of having acted unfairly and without any real motivation in its infancy, make him reassess their actions and, fortunately for her, gives to policemen enough time to act and finish the attack. That is why, we can see the final scene where he, as a child, is seen releasing the rabbit instead of kill it. It is an allegory about redemption you get when you forgive someone innocent (the "White Rabbit" is the helpless girl). And the rabbit in his mind, is the representation of his own guilt, and the inner voice who, at the end, says him that it's time to leave, the indication that he is dying and this is the end... without being able to fix the things that he has made.

Destined to become a cult classic!

[nerdgyrl · 8/10 · 25 March 2015]

I have watched this movie a couple times now and every time I notice something different and have a different theory about the ending. This is going to be the next cult classic, especially since Britt is about to skyrocket to fame and her fans are going to seek this movie out. She is great in this goth role.

The cinematography is so beautiful even though the subject matter is so ugly and the town looks so gritty. The story is so tragic because there are so many things along the way that could have stopped Harlon - his mom could have intervened, he could have joined the church like his dad, his teacher could have tried to help. So many people failed to come through for him. I hope people who see this this movie pay closer attention to those around them who need help.

Trying to make it through the teenage years in declining America

[Wuchakk · 8/10 · 15 February 2024]

A teenager in Louisiana (Nick Krause) faces the challenges of the working class, a troubled father (Sam Trammell), bullies at school and first love (Britt Robertson). Will it push him over the edge?

"White Rabbit" (2013) is a dark coming-of-age drama with gritty realism and an artsy flair. It has been compared to "Donnie Darko," but that one was sci-fi with a high school milieu whereas "White Rabbit" keeps things mundane and relatable, not to mention brooding and edgy. Besides, "Donnie" was essentially a blockbuster while this one cost $2 million.

If you like Indies like "Cutback" (2010) and "Love Everlasting" (2016) or mainline flicks like "The Rage: Carrie 2," you'll appreciate this. The ending doesn't wuss out and is reminiscent of the underrated "Speck" (2002). Thankfully, as dark as it is, it wisely provides a ray of light.

The film runs just over 1 hour, 30 minutes, and was shot in outer New Orleans.

GRADE: B+/A-

Compelling But Violent

[SwollenThumb · 8/10 · 13 May 2018]

Ultimately too violent for me but compelling until then. Nice twist before the ending is well-handled (I didn't see it coming).