White Man's Burden (1995)

24% of critics liked it
(33 reviews)
38% of users liked it
(6,417 ratings)

From director-writer Desmond Nakano comes this unusual role-reversal picture examining racism from a different perspective. Louis Pinnock (John Travolta) is a semi-literate worker in a chocolate candy factory. One day he makes a delivery to the mansion of wealthy Thaddeus Thomas (Harry Belafonte).… More From director-writer Desmond Nakano comes this unusual role-reversal picture examining racism from a different perspective. Louis Pinnock (John Travolta) is a semi-literate worker in a chocolate candy factory. One day he makes a delivery to the mansion of wealthy Thaddeus Thomas (Harry Belafonte). He is noticed while he is unintentionally looking up at Thomas' wife, Megan (Margaret Avery), while she is undressing in an open window. Thomas makes sure that Pinnock is fired for this innocent indiscretion despite his years of reliable performance at the factory. Some time later, unemployed and destitute, Pinnock and his wife Marsha (Kelly Lynch) and children are evicted roughly from their home by police officers. Marsha's mother (Carrie Snodgress) takes in her daughter and grandchildren, but she won't let Pinnock stay. Police officers beat up Pinnock one day because, they say, he fits the description of a criminal suspect. Finally, Pinnock goes to Thomas's house to get an explanation for his firing, but Thomas doesn't remember the incident. Pinnock takes Thomas hostage and demands he be paid for all the hours of work he has missed. In this film, all the authority figures and wealthy people are black, and Pinnock is a member of a poor white underclass. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 29 min.
Directed By: Desmond Nakano
Genres: Drama, Television

In Theaters: Dec 1, 1995 Wide
On DVD: May 11, 1999
Studio: HBO Video

Critic Reviews

Stephen Holden, New York Times
Were it not for John Travolta's big-hearted portrayal of an unemployed white factory worker driven to commit a desperate act, the movie would be an emotionally frozen exercise in cautious high-mindedness.
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
White Man's Burden spirals into tragedy but never into stirring drama. It stays stuck at the level of noble experiment.
Mike Clark, USA Today
Watching this movie is like watching Godfrey Cambridge's racial switcheroo in 1970's Watermelon Man -- without the laughs.
Joe Baltake, Sacramento Bee
Surprisingly lively and entertaining.
Rita Kempley, Washington Post
A ham-fisted, under-imagined dialectic on race relations.
Desson Thomson, Washington Post
It's undeniably fascinating to watch this hypothetical experiment for a while. But White Man's Burden starts to feel like an only-passable Twilight Zone episode stretched into a full-length movie.
Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com
A wierd and ungainly mixture of obvious racial issues and pseudo-action material.
Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com
Doesn't go too far beyond the basic set-up.
Frank Ochieng, Movie Eye
The racial message is crystal clear and the concept of turning the tables on oppression is rather interesting. Unfortunately, the movie is never focused or convincingly solid to realize the cynicism in its meandering material. At best, "Burden" is merely
Phil Villarreal, Arizona Daily Star
Manages to approach significant social issues, but falters in its melodrama.
Clint Morris, Moviehole
Just when Travolta got his groove back..
Kim Williamson, Boxoffice Magazine
A look at color relations that's likely to be more compelling for nonurban audiences than the latest take on drug dealing and gang banging in the 'hood.

Read all 12 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Remi L

Like the professional critics will tell you, VERY interesting premise, but the execution fell short
Anthony V

Not the movie it could have been, but still thought provoking.