Fantastic!

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

Based on the book by James Fox (not the handsome English actor of a certain age) this film remains hard to pin down: it's part murder mystery, part sociological study, part history of pre-WW2 East African colonialism, part romance, part dionysian orgy (really), part Evelyn Waugh/Somerset Maughm, part romance, part.... etc. etc. And it's all true.Yes, the actors are more spectacular looking than their real life counterparts (particularly Scacchi, seldom more stunning.) Sarah Miles' strange character wafts through as most memorable of all in a rich ensemble set of louche decadents. (And yet the actress in real life admitted she may not have gotten a handle on the real woman, just an impression. Based upon my reading of Fox's and Trzebinski's books' accounts on the Alice de Janze, I'd have to agree. Nothing like her except the memorable quips and woozy flair.) Plus, most folks who didn't swim through the primo decadence of the 1960's firsthand might be appalled at what passes for entertainment in British colonial East Africa of the 1930'/40s. But what you'll get for your treasure hunt (this is a hard film to find) is the truth of a murder mystery, weird but real characters, a slice of history, all against the gorgeous panoply of Kenya, despite all its troubles one of the most beautiful spots on the entire planet, all shot on location right where the real events unfolded.

The only thing that keeps me from giving this a 10, is the hit and miss score. There are moments when the music is completely wrong for what is going on. That said, the storyline is not new, in fact it is based on an actual incident. What makes it so entertaining is it's cast, their lines,beautiful wardrobes and the different "mischief" they nearly all take part in. Drugs,booze,polo, parties, mate swapping (and stealing), and eventually murder, has rarely looked so delicious on screen. There are moments here that should stick in your memory for years to come. One such scene involves Sarah Miles and her special way of saying goodbye to a dear departed. It's a shame that this Michael Radford gem is evidently out of print. Should you be lucky enough to find it to rent, I strongly recommend you having on hand a fine Port and some chocolate lobster!

It's funny how you remember certain details with regards to certain films. I'll always remember that "Gremlins 2" was the first movie I taped on my VCR machine and that this was the first movie that I watched on my personal TV in my room. The reason being, I had not long turned 13 and the listings described this as an "erotic thriller". Now, it looks about as erotic as an episode of "Songs of Praise"."White Mischief" takes us to Kenya in the early days of WWII. A rich landowner and his young wife (Joss Acklund and Greta Scacchi) arrive to escape the Blitz and settle in a colony of affluent, upper class aristocrats. However, she soon falls in love with the dashing Earl of Erroll (Charles Dance), causing a scandal in the community. Things come to a tragic head, however, when the Earl is murdered. Anything beyond that, I can't really tell you because this film moves so slowly and so little seems to happen that other details just seemed to vanish in a hazy blur.Credit where it's due, the production values are fantastic. Like most BBC period productions, the costumes are spot-on and the unusual setting is completely believable on screen. Locations, music, dialogue etc. are all as you'd expect, although Scacchi's character occasionally looks like a 1950's Hollywood starlet, rather than a 1940's Lady. Nothing wrong with the performances either, though with a cast like this, a dodgy performance was probably the last thing you'd expect. The fatal flaw, in my eyes, is that most viewers will not have any chance of identifying themselves with the characters. It feels like a dramatised version of a Mills & Boon novel and the feeling of detachment is unsettling. The other flaw is that it runs so slow. By the time of the trial into the death of the Earl of whatever-it-was, the film had failed my Nokia test - only it hadn't technically. Instead of playing Backgammon on my mobile (battery was dead), I flicked over to watch Jennifer Love Hewitt take a shower in "I Still Know What You Did Last Summer". And quite frankly, no part of this film can compete with that.If you're interested in the period then you might take something from this. Otherwise, I can't see why it was ever released as a film. It might have been better as one of those Sunday evenings shows that the BBC like so much like "Ballykissangel" or "Monarch Of The Glen" (shudders). Editing would have removed some the (rather pointless) tit shots and apart from this, this is precisely the sort of bland, middle-of-the-road, inoffensive twaddle that seems to occupy that slot in the listings. Sorry but the only mischievous thing about this film is the title, implying that the whole film is little more than a trifle inconvenience in the lives of the characters and a trifle boring for the viewer.

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.