This cynical drama set in pre-WWII colonial Kenya (where the lifestyles of the rich and decadent were enhanced by casual drug abuse and infidelity) presents a glossy but unfocused account of a May-December marriage of convenience, brought to a tragic end after one too many indiscreet liaisons between frustrated young wife Greta Scacchi and local Casanova Charles Dance. The film is based on a true story, widely reported at the time (in England, at least), and like its two lovers is cool and dispassionate and pleasant to look at. But the script makes the fatal mistake of sanitizing the illicit affair with feelings of true love, and because all the sex is conducted with such impeccable protocol the effect is more polite than shocking. Director and co-writer Michael Radford's script is full of barbed and witty dialogue, but re-writes history for a dramatically tidy (and quite bloody) resolution.

I got this as another piece of my "Charles Dance" collection (see some of my other comments on other films....). At least in this one, he plays British, and I get to see more of him actually acting. That said, this movie was another 1980's British movie short on writing and long on "atmosphere". Not to mention that terrible score that made me want to turn off the sound and wait for dialog. Lots of familiar faces, and some interesting characters floating through the scenery - but once again, I long for more development of the main characters through conversation. We can make suppositions about "whodunnit" from the ending, but perhaps not - no spoilers here, but I have my own opinion on the answer......

The performances of Sarah Miles and John Hurt make this film worth watching; however it is disappointing that Michael Radford does not use the full storyline of the original film : "The Happy Valley" - made in 1987, nor is the source acknowledged in the credits. Other than that it is quite a good remake, but the original should not be missed, as the story continues for some length - indeed the end of "White Mischief" is about the halfway point of the story in "The Happy Valley". This is another of Radford's remakes that seemed to receive acclaim as if it were an original concept - just as his version of the tale of Pablo Neruda - "Il Postino" - was taken from the lesser known earlier film "Ardiente Pacientia" (Burning Patience) which for my money was the the better film.

What a demented film! It should be a late night cult classic like Rocky Horror or Blues Bros with the audience hooting and participating at every step, dressing up in character and swilling drinks, dead dogs, accordions, knives, whatever.....causing all sorts of audience mischief in tune with the on screen antics. A loaded cast in every way stagger across the veldt screwing and drinking and making a right old priviliged mess of their rich surroundings. I am sure th cast all laughed all the way to the bank with their fee, and I am not sure where the script ended and the camera kept rolling. The best way to enjoy this berserk trash is to get a group of friends quite drunk and put it on, over reacting and yowling at every scene. It is great fun.