Seldom has social rot been more beautifully photographed than here. It's 1940. Bombs are raining down on London, soldiers are dying across Europe, Hitler is on the rise, yet not a drop of alcohol is being spilled by the rich and idle colonialists of British east Africa. Time is spent drinking and gossiping, drinking and swapping mates, drinking and dancing, and drinking and cross-dressing. It's all really rather empty and boring, sort of a sub-Saharan "La Dolce Vita", summed up in the death-mask visage of the sumptuous Greta Scacchi. Once jealousy takes hold, it's fun to watch the emotions build and shake loose behind these perfectly mannered mannikins.Based on an actual murder case, the movie is salvaged from cliché by the elegantly understated style of the film-makers, who know how to both seduce and make a subtle point. Two scenes stay with me. A black man-servant sets up targets for practicing colonialists and narrowly escapes being shot in the process. The episode passes quickly, but it's evident the elitist whites take no notice of what almost happened -- a whole little world captured in one fleeting event. The other is the deathless and x-rated line -- "Oh my God! Not another f...king beautiful day." -- uttered by the super-jaded Sarah Miles as she surveys yet one more splendorous sunrise from the veranda of one of the film's many lush mansions. For contrast, there is John Hurt's scruffy and enigmatic "Gilbert", reputedly the richest man in Kenya, and a fascinating study in laconic reserve. What exactly is going on behind that wide- eyed stare and silent tongue -- envy? disgust? It's probably best that we never know. Anyway, this is an all-around first rate production that qualifies for permanent cult status and promises to remain with you long after the final scene has faded from view.

WHITE MISCHIEF purports to tell the true story of a murder that shocked British colonials living in Kenya during the 1940s. It's a familiar milieu for those of us who've seen anything of GOSFORD PARK, DOWNTOWN ABBEY, etc., with slightly bizarre aristocrats wining, dining and, of course, sleeping together against a hedonistic backdrop of the pursuit of pleasure.The problem with WHITE MISCHIEF is a simple one: the characters are all so dull. The pretty-but-vacuous lead character, played by Greta Scacchi, is a fine example of this; she has absolutely no depth or presence, nothing on which to centre the viewer's attention. The male cast members, particularly Joss Ackland and Charles Dance, are by far the more interesting, but even these have little to work with.For fans of British cinema, WHITE MISCHIEF is worth catching thanks to the presence of numerous familiar faces, including Ray McAnally, Trevor Howard, John Hurt and Geraldine Chaplin. There are also turns for a couple of youngsters, Hugh Grant and Gregor Fisher, and an eye-popping cameo from Hammer starlet Jacqueline Pearce (THE REPTILE).Sadly, though, I found this dull and sleep-inducing for the most part, despite the interest generated by the murder sub-plot. That and the subsequent court case are intriguing, as is Ackland at the climax, but the rest of the film is just an entirely forgettable example of the extraordinarily dull lives of the aristocracy and why they are best ignored for the most part.

I liked the actors in this, John Hurt and Trevor Howard are a rich addition to the mix. I found the film fascinating because the "cad", played by Charles Dance, was visually exciting to watch, and moves so gracefully. One of the later scenes in the movie when the two lovers are together in the bedroom is especially memorable because Dance photographs so beautifully. I stayed up late last night just to see this scene in the movie. There's a new cable channel on our provider, and to my great disappointment, they cut this scene to, I presume, eliminate views of Greta Scacci's breasts. So I missed the full frontal view of Charles Dance, but there were still some enjoyable views of a well developed man without all the steroid developed muscles you see in current "thrillers." The movie still retained some beautifully filmed scenes of the ocean, the polo match, and one or two scenes where the rich people do some cross dressing. Charles Dance in a beautiful long dress, wearing ear "bobs" was somewhat alarming, but, even the evil old husband had on a woman's dress and pearls. It's also reminiscent of a time when people smoked cigarettes prodigiously, and, used Western Union to communicate quickly. There's a lot of detail where the native servants show personality and resourcefulness. That component adds depth to the story of life styles of the rich and shameless, which, seems like, is an eternal theme. Wealthy people now just don't dress nearly so beautifully as the characters in this unique movie.

This story is loosely based on a real scandal that occurred in Kenya during the second world war and the film captures all the decadent events that were happening in an area nicknamed "Happy Valley". Story takes place in 1940 in Kenya where Sir Jock Delves Broughton (Joss Ackland) has brought back with him a much younger bride. Jock is in his 60's and his new bride Diana (Greta Scacchi) is probably more than 30 years younger. Diana meets the assorted British colonists that live there and spend their time drinking and going to parties and having sex with one another. Diana meets the local stud Josslyn Hay (Charles Dance) and it doesn't take long before the two are having a very public affair much to the chagrin of Jock. One night Joss drops Diana off and proceeds to drive down the road when someone appears out of the darkness and shoots Joss in the head killing him. *****SPOILER ALERT*****Jock is quickly accused of the murder and has to stand trial where it becomes a media circus. Jock is acquitted of the murder of Joss and Diana goes back to live with him but has serious thoughts that he was in fact guilty of her lovers murder. This film was directed by Michael Radford who also had directed the vastly underrated "1984". He would go on to direct other interesting films such as "Il Postino", "B. Monkey" and "Dancing at the Blue Iguana". In those films Radford has shown a knack for filming stories in exotic locations and also showing the more decadent lifestyles of individuals. He does that here in this film as well and even though the material is presented in a trashy manner, Radford still creates genuine moments with effective atmosphere. Scacchi is utterly beautiful to watch and her nude scenes are not easily forgotten. The best performance in the film comes from Ackland who has spent most of his film career being a character actor. His most effective scene is where he is sitting on his bed with a tear coming down his face while he contemplates what he should do. John Hurt plays a character named Gilbert Colvile and barely utters more than two words at a time. I had the feeling that his character was there just to make him another suspect in the murder. One of the more interesting bits of casting (For me anyway) is Jacqueline Pearce as Idina. I grew up watching Pearce in the Hammer horror films and it was quite the sight to see her in the nude in this film. Despite her age she was still very beautiful to look at. Also, a very young Hugh Grant has a small role at the beginning of the film. This is definitely a step down for a good director like Radford but he does capture the spirit of these people who are doing they're best to ignore the fact that a war is raging on in their own home country. The last shot in the film perfectly illustrates this as everyone gets together at the funeral of a close friend to have another party.