White Lies (2013)

Purely Joyful Movie!

One of my all time favorites.

Absolutely brilliant

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

An interesting look at new zealand long ago but its boring as. moves at a criminally slow pace, pathetic camera work, acting worthy of being New Zealand, bad singing, unbelievable plot. I wouldn't wish this movie on my worst enemy because its boring as aye bro. If you want to watch a good new zealand movie watch hobbit

What makes for a successful life? What are people prepared to do to be accepted within what they perceive to be a successful life? To claim a life they think is of a better quality than what they are born to. Being of mixed blood, what makes one more or less of which lineage?We are taken into the lives of 3 feminine roles in Colonial NZ. One (Whirimako Black) is a childless old Crone, full blood Maori, who is unlawfully practising medicinal rites like those of a Tohunga, but in Midwifery - flouting The Tohunga Suppression Act 1907 which was intended to stop people using traditional Māori healing practices which had a spiritual element. Another, (Rachel House), middle-aged Mother ("half-caste") is living the life of a slave/servant to the third, (Antonia Prebble) the Maiden wife ("1/4 cast") an upper-class English-European wife. In their roles, which one is suffering most? Which one has given up the wild feminine? Which one is the slave? Which one is free? Who is living a successful and happy life? These are the questions that are tackled within the film. Little love is expressed between the 3, but cloaked in silence, the love runs deep regardless and the sacrifices made are proof of the love, albeit misguided and ultimately destructive.The cycle has come full circle since colonial days. Not belonging to either culture is often not acknowledged because we live in a world whereby we judge instantly, unconsciously, like judging a book by the cover. Once upon a time ... opposites attract. The racial divide is still running deep on our shores from all shades of brown & white, even though there are no full blooded EnglishKiwi or MaoriKiwi left among us.An interesting topic and subject to reflect upon Colonial NZ society. Many mixed marriages were openly accepted and the life of a settler was hard no matter what colour the skin. In the case of the film though, this is not ordinary settlers we are dealing with. This is rich elite English-European society and old time Maori.The most encompassing sentence was that of Rachel House when she spoke of not belonging to either culture.I liked the whimsical nature of the film, the romantic white horse, the dog, the art deco elements within the homestead, the silk and fires. I am going to find the novella by Witi Ihimaera - Medicine Woman, from Ask The Posts Of The House. John Psathas music was lovely as usual.

I agree with the majority of these reviews. I was looking up to see what other films one of the actors on White lies had been in (Taika's film Boy, must watch it again) and well I'm kind of freaked out with the luvnotwar person. Top of the Lake and White lies are both so accomplished! What on earth? Sure, a few faults here and there for both but I wouldn't think that the acting in either deserved moaning about. Yes, Elizabeth Moss accent was weird in a few places but being a character who had traveled all over the world it is little wonder the accent strays. Have you heard Anna Paquin being herself lately? Crazy accent. Very cool. And the performance of Elizabeth Moss was brilliant. There is a style of acting my mate reckons we've become accustomed to in this country. A friend, an actor, calls it "soft whisper acting". I will not attach it to any show but it definitely seems a requirement for some local drama I've watched lately and it works perfectly well too. I loved the boldness of all the actors in Top of the Lake and White Lies. I've mostly seen Rachel House, Nancy Brunning and Elizabeth Hawthorne in theatre shows some years ago now. They were fabulous in White Lies. I heard Antonia was great in Outrageous Fortune. I've been away for a few years, didn't have time to lock in to Blue Rose on my return. Anyway, thanks for annoying me enough to become a member. Might go and score some other films now. White Lies is intense and definitely worth seeing. Still thinking about it. Take a hankie.

My daughter directed me to this site after we re-read some of the reviews for this film. I have to admit we read a review in the Herald, the Listener and even heard one on the National radio (where they called 'Rachel House' 'Rachel Church'!) and we decided not to see it. We thought our regular cinema would surely close the film down given the Luke warm reviews. Yesterday we went along to our local cinema with a view to see a festival film and we noticed 'White lies' was still on. After a lot of sighing and changing of minds we decided to see it.I am so glad we did.What a powerful and remarkable film. I wholeheartedly accept the criticism of some of the clichéd dialogue from various reviews hence my 9 out of 10.Whirimako Black gives a very assured performance for a newcomer though clearly she is a storyteller of some repute in the music world. Elizabeth Hawthorne gives a full bodied performance that we've come to expect from such an acting heavyweight. Like wise Nancy Brunning gives us a textured and full character that adds a well needed warmth to our lead protagonists journey. Antonia Prebble is indeed a porcelain doll as described by others. Yes, she is cold and unlikeable and the journey she goes on throughout this story that gives us real insight into the reasons behind this behaviour is executed remarkably well for such a young actress. In other words I believed her and followed her journey entirely. All of these performances were wonderful- but it is the servant Maraea that I couldn't stop thinking about- who I am still thinking about. What an intriguing story and an absolutely outstanding performance by Rachel House. For both my daughter and I and in turn all of our friends who we managed to convince to go along and see the film- it is this part of the story that we are most torn up about. "Like watching a dam about to burst" is how one of my friends described Houses performance.I encourage you all to go and see the film yourselves. I hope the overseas critics understand the qualities of this film better than those ones here.