White Lies

"A decent script and thrilling show that did keep us guessing who the murderer was, and it was surprisingly well thought out as a story, but a classic modern South African letdown.

The dialogue may as well have been written for a 10th-grade stage play. I feel for Natalie Dormer, having been subjected to such bad material, especially coming from GOT to this. The South African cast was monotone and unconvincing throughout the show. The most believable performances in the entire show were the gangsters and skelems. Yet another South African show that just can't seem to hit the mark.

I feel for the cast as their cringe-worthy performances were clearly a result of poor directing and production. Yikes."

The show starts out with a lot of promise. I thought Natalie Dormer was great in Game of Thrones. Not so much here. In fact all of the characters were very plastic. The premise of the show was good I did not get a sense of who done it until the last episode. My big problem with the show was the two kids. They were so unlikable but maybe that was intentional. On top of that the detective was completely not believable and unlike most cop shows that one sees he was a complete woose, again maybe that is the way he was supposed act. Again, this could have been a good show if the actors were just a touch more realistic.

I used to consider Lifetime or Hallmark stuff are bad, but if compared them with this White Lies, they'd immediately transform into masterpiece. I don't even know why I need to write a review on this horrible drama series. The screenplay is so bad, all the actors, except Dormer, who's also the producer, are just so amateurish, especially the young guy who plays the son of the murdered parents and the elder brother to his sister. His bad acting in addition to the bad screenplay and those horrible actors who played the cops, are the major reasons that nearly ruined this drama from the very beginning. I have to admit that I didn't waste my time to watch the whole eight episodes; I really didn't need to since it's so predictable. After in the middle of the second episode, I skipped to the last one, and voila, nothing really out of my prediction. I have to say that even in the last episode, it's still so bad and I was lucky I didn't so mindlessly waste my time going through the whole series.

Writing this review is perhaps the hardest one that I've ever did, because it's just so bad that I don't even know how to put it into words to describe it. To fulfill the required words is just so painful like a torture.

White Lies: South African Noir. A journalist is drawn into a tangled web of crime when her estranged brother is murdered and his wife left in a coma. Her teenage niece and nephew are suspects and she must now try and care for them. She is a stranger to them though. A hard boiled detective is convinced that the nephew did it. But a myriad of suspects emerge as a shoal of red herrings swim into the script. Some pointed social commentary on race, class and corruption in present day South Africa. There are some violent scenes but the real violence exposed is land grabs. A few interesting plot twists. Created by Sean Steinberg and written by Darrel Bristow-Bovey. Eight episodes on Channel 4. 7.5/10.

An equally impressive crime drama series with thrilling storyline and plots, for what is worth, with great acting, especially by Jaime whose sulfurous ego and tempestuous character stood out. She is perfect for Agatha Christie's novels.

The narrative and pace take their time without hastening things, all the while gracing us with that dysfunctional family history in sunny and beautiful South Africa.

The ending and the dancing were well-done and because of that nasty acidic chemistry between Daniel and Jaime, I really hope there's a second season.

• Screenplay/storyline/plots: 7
• Production value/impact: 6.5
• Development: 7.5
• Realism: 7
• Entertainment: 7
• Acting: 7.5
• Filming/photography/cinematography: 7.5
• VFX: 7
• Music/score/sound: 7
• Depth: 6.5
• Logic: 5.5
• Flow: 7.5
• Mystery/thriller/crime/drama: 7
• Ending: 6.5.