George Washington
A lyrical Southern coming-of-age drama follows working-class children whose innocent cover-up turns one difficult summer into a search for redemption.
Overview
A poignant exploration of childhood innocence and the weight of secrets in a small town.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Slow
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- melancholic
- lyrical
- wistful
- quiet evening
- reflective movie night
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film as a languid, melancholy, visually distinctive, and carefully observed meditation on adolescence, rural poverty, memory, and regret.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The summer's events are shaped through recollection, regret, and intensely felt subjective experience rather than conventional plot mechanics.
Tim Orr's highly praised cinematography transforms small-town North Carolina, railroad spaces, swimming areas, and domestic environments into expressive images.
The children become responsible for concealing a tragic event and pursue individual forms of redemption afterward.
The story depicts a multi-racial group of working-class children within poverty-stricken rural North Carolina.
Films like George Washington, and why
The Tree of Life
melancholic adolescent perspective, rural southern setting, and lyrical attention to memory and regret
Kids
working-class adolescence, moral uncertainty, and naturalistic regional storytelling
Stand by Me
poignant coming-of-age drama centered on friendship, poverty, and intensely remembered youth
The Last Picture Show
observational childhood drama with restrained emotion and a strong sense of place
Movie Details
- Director
- David Gordon Green
- Release Date
- 2000-10-27
- Runtime
- 90 min
- Rating
- 6.7 / 10 (129)
Cast
- Donald Holden
- Damian Jewan Lee
- Curtis Cotton III
- Rachael Handy
- Candace Evanofski
- Paul Schneider
- Eddie Rouse
- Janet Taylor
- Derricka Rolle
- Ebony Jones
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is George Washington about?
- A lyrical Southern coming-of-age drama follows working-class children whose innocent cover-up turns one difficult summer into a search for redemption.
- What is George Washington like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of George Washington as slow, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is George Washington violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in George Washington as mild.
- What did critics think of George Washington?
- Critics broadly praised the film as a languid, melancholy, visually distinctive, and carefully observed meditation on adolescence, rural poverty, memory, and regret.
- Which films are like George Washington?
- Films with a similar feel include The Tree of Life, Kids, Stand by Me, and The Last Picture Show.
- How long is George Washington?
- George Washington runs 90 minutes.
- Where can I watch George Washington?
- In United States, George Washington is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home.
