White Lie

Newb producers, writers and directors Yonah Lewis and Calvin Thomas put together a gem of a film, where one's self-interest combined with sociological expectations and acceptance, blur into paranoid toxicity of constant lies that tear apart lovers, friends and families. Kacey Rohl was amazing in her role, and her facial expressions added more anxiety and tension than the lies themselves. Cinematography was perfect, and the score on point. The 96 minute runtime felt longer with the slow pacing and continuity issues in the writing. But even still, the constant anxiety you will have watching this film, is a testament to the excellent film-making put together by newbs Lewis and Thomas. It's a well deserved 8/10 from me.

It would have been easy to produce a film with this premise and provide a cut-out 'mean girl' as the central character. Thankfully the writers and producers here are much smarter and have given us something quite unique.

Kacey Rohl's performance as Katie Arneson is brilliant. Morally her behaviour is appalling, but is played with such subtlety that I found myself strangely sympathetic.

She is obviously mentally ill, whether by whim of fate or something darker in her past. Her increasingly desperate attempts to keep the lie alive do not feel evil or driven by avarice, but by the need to hold on to the acceptance and love she finds with her 'diagnosis'.

The film lacks the usual Hollywood trappings and as such feels like an almost documentary-like record of a period in Katie's life. Be prepared to be thrown into the story (and out of it again) with almost no exposition or explanation and certainly no satisfying 'gotcha!' ending.

Overall a teriffic piece of work by all involved, which I highly recommend.

There's so much out there masquerading as "film" or "TV" these days that it's refreshing to witness the great talent of Canadian filmmakers like Yonah Lewis and Calvin Thomas...even if it's on the small screen. They both have a keen knack for storytelling and their cinematic intuition right on the money. WHITE LIE does a great job of upping the ante every step of the way. The tension keeps building to a point where you're wondering what will finally happen to Katie? This is a simple but engaging story that really speaks to this generation's social turmoil. I really enjoyed this a lot. It's certainly worth watching, especially if you're a cinephile.

I think this is a good production but it made me feel very sand even after the viewing. It's painful to watch and that's what the directors wanted.

The story is pretty simple but good: an avalanche of lies that grow out of control and you'll feel the pain of each of them.

There are two things that doon't fit in my opinion: you would never ask so many pushy specific questions to person with cancer I wouldn't at least, also some of the questions she gets continuously asked by random people seem to arrive from a specialised doctor (some terms I personally have never heard in my life)..

These two elements made it a bit unreal, but that's me.

Nonetheless I would suggest the viewing

This is a real hidden gem. Going into the film, I saw the trailer and read the synopsis. Both sounded interesting enough. Nothing could prepare me for how good this would be. Not that I thought it would be bad, but the plot sounded very simple. And that was confirmed after finishing the film. But even the most simple plot can make an amazing film if the acting, direction, and writing are all on point, as was the case with this film.

Kacey Rohl gives a really riveting, convincing performance. The amount of tension and suspense she's able to imbue on screen is remarkable. How she can emote so much with her eyes is really excellent. You feel bad for her. You feel she's a monster. You feel she's mentally unstable for telling this lie to everyone that she has cancer when in reality she doesn't. Amber Anderson is also great as her compassionate girlfriend. The writing was very strong and taut. There were no wasted moments. The directors do a great job of putting the audience in the headspace of the main character, and as a result, you're constantly on-edge. It feels like the rug can be ripped from right under you at any moment.

The only thing I kind of disliked about the film was the ending. It's very abrupt and feels like there should've been more to get closure as the audience. But it also sort of works because, much like life, and much like those living a lie like the lead in this film, there are no happy endings.

Highly recommend checking this out. Kacey Rohl is a complete revelation. This is such a tense, effective, thrilling, twisty, and unsettling film.