White Lies (1998)

How can a smart middle class girl suddenly turn into a devoted right wing debater? That's what happens with Catherine when she meets the charismatic leaders of the neo-nazi organization NIM.

Director:

Kari Skogland

Writer:

Dennis Foon

Stars:

Sarah Polley, Tanya Allen, Jonathan Scarfe

1 win & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sarah Polley	...	Catherine Chapman
Tanya Allen	...	Erina Baxter
Jonathan Scarfe	...	Ian McKee
Lynn Redgrave	...	Inga Kolneder
Joseph Kell	...	Rex Brennan
Albert Schultz	...	Alan Green
Regan Moore	...	Wayne
Danny Smith	...	Khaki Kid
Mark Terene	...	Teacher
Michelle St. John	...	TV Newsperson 1
Peter Cookson	...	Horrible Skinhead
Carley Chapdelaine	...	Skinhead Girl
Cassel Miles	...	Bill
Tara Rosling	...	Karen
Michael Dyson	...	Security Guard

Storyline

Catherine, a first-year university student who feels alienated from the liberal campus, joins a hate group through the Internet and becomes their voice, only to gradually question their beliefs even as she becomes more deeply involved.

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Plot Keywords:

neo nazi | hate | journalism | hate crime | white power | 

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and some sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

CBC

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 March 1998 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Valkoisia valheita

Filming Locations:

Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Color:

Color

User Reviews

Surprising, but ultimately lacks courage

Have watched this several times on cable, had never heard of it and was pleasantly surprised. Sarah Polley is a very good and appealing actor and her character in this movie is fascinating. The movie is shocking at first by attacking the closed mindedness of the liberal orthodoxy of thought at universities today and the oppurtunists that use charges of racism to squelch dissent. Catherine Chapman thinks and says many things early in the movie that many people think secretly but are afraid to say for being branded, this is highly unusual for any film these days to face reality head on like this.

Unfortunately, this courage dwindles at the end and the producers of the movie play to the grandstand like all mainstream movies do and create cartoonish, reprehensible, easy to hate skinhead nazis as bad guys and Catherine repents. How disappointing, I wish the movie had continued to explore the gray areas of racial politics, where what is 'right' is not so clear as when nazis are involved, but rather there are intelligent people who have a legitimate argument against an entrenched political correctness and have a right to be heard without fear of being treated like pariahs by the establishment.