WHITE MISCHIEF
A film review by Tim Horton
Copyright 1988 Tim Horton
A "lifestyle" film, par excellance. This one, however, seems intent on exploring and contrasting a great number of lifestyles: - good-ole-boy wholesome British, with underlying flaws - female glitz-seeker, marries older man for money - lots of sexually promiscuous, consuming and debauched hedonists ranging from joy-of-excentricity druggies to brazen usurers - African natives, surviving the reign of self-serving whites
In the opening scenes, a young woman exposes her lustful intent to chase money and title, at whatever cost. She is (somehow) wed to an old-boy Brit with a large but threatened fortune. He's old, bald, and pretty stiff. She's young and sexy. World War I quickly fades into the background as they move to Africa. Immediately she sees a cute guy she wouldn't mind boffing. (All this is dished out in the first few minutes.) At this point, all the various lifestyles come into play, and contrast.
A great many crises ensue, which seem only to give opportunity to explore the clash of lifestyles. You don't get to know any of the characters as intimately as you might expect. In fact, much of the film you are left out-of-the-know, in a sort of free-wheeling spectator's seat, to watch what the various crazy people are doing. Things escalate to an court trial, then resolution of the major crises that have been raised. Everybody seems to meet some sort of "that's where your lifestyle takes you" demon, not entirely unlike BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CITY. My theatre-mates (unfortunately, all male, like myself) were quite happy to get the heck out of the theatre.
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