User reviews

I'm only on episode 5 atm. Natalie Dormer is fantastic in every role she portrays. This is an interesting story so far I think I've figured it out but my mind changes with each episode. The acting by other cast is pretty basic. The brother and sisters acting is really bad and at times uncomfortable to watch. If it wasn't for Natalie I don't think I'd be sitting through each episode although I need to finish so I can get through to the end.

The scenery is nice to look at, the writing could've been a little less wishy washy.

I will persevere and see if my thoughts on what the go is are right or if I'm completely wrong.

Overall I would say it's a worthy watch if only for Natalie.

Basically I thought the series was good. At halftime it was actually pretty clear who did it or had a hand in it. But it was worth the time to see it through.

But what really caught the eye was the acting/non-acting performance of the actor playing the son.

I kept thinking: Did the director tell him to look so dumb or is that just his natural facial expression? Who is he related to that got him this part? Please never give this young man a part again. Or send him to acting-classes, for five or six years.

The sister was only half as bad, but not really good either.

I liked Dormer, Janks and Daniels, in that order.

Eight episodes is too long for a drama where we dont warm to any character. We get to learn something of modern South Africa, there a high production values,, the acting is good and the location pretty but the direction and story meanders with every possible plot twist employed and many sub plot cul de sacs

Natalie is a great actress but this is her being stroppy on steroids. Her character, super journalist Eddie, is too lucky, stumbling across, everything and everybody she needs and having unbelievable access to all areas. Would a security guard leave his post to accompany her to a dangerous area? There are script issues from the start. Why does a millionaire's son needs a scholarship? The relationship between the odd daughter and handsome son is bizarre and changes with the plot line. The police have to be stupid, corrupt. Damaged and overly forgiving so Eddie can steer the investigation.

It's moderately interesting . You wont miss much by skipping q .an early episode and watching the catch up.

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.

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.

"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."

What a great show, thriller had so many layers. It was unpredictable for the first 6 episodes. The pace, the acting, the storyline, all of it was amazing.

The show started out with the information on a murder, Natalie Dormer got involved in the case however she struggled with her multifaceted character, that involved being supporting for the kids and having a career and dealing with the investigation. She did a commendable job at developing her character through out the show.

The kids appeared to be very ungrateful from the start, perhaps that was intentional, well they did a great job at portraying to be very unlikable.

The police squad 40 and the constable, had their side of stories well written, good development there as well.

I like how the show did not leave any lose ends, every story and every character came together to be a perfect thriller.

Hoping for the second season.

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.

Is just me or the Mackenzie siblings' relationships has incest vibes???

The scrip is bad Daniel looks too old to be in the uniform.

Daniel seems like in a school play - his acting is only school play level. What's he doing on the small screen???

The storyline is just too weird and too many sub plots.

All the actors seems stiff.

All the characters vibes are off.

Is this first time director?

Screenwriter? Producer???

Could have ended at 6 episodes not dragged on.

Just trying to be so many things all at once.

Not focusing on building proper characters and storyline.

Just weird.

Don't bother. Unless it's another lockdown and you don't have much to do.

Some great acting sadly let down by Natalie Dormer, Morgan Santo and Daniel Schultz.

Dormer's great range of two facial expressions coupled with her lack of continuity between being bereft and tearful one second and then instantaneously snapping to her other expression of anger is confusing. Schultz has one expression throughout and makes one wonder if he actually knows where he is. Santo is still young and hopefully won't look to Dormer for acting tips.

As a series it is five episodes too long, too repetitive and tries too hard to tease out an ending that even the most uninterested of viewers could work out within two episodes.

All in all, Arnold Clark should be ashamed of sponsoring this rubbish.

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.

First impressions:

I don't know what to say? So much of this series works on what the Brits/Americans think South Africa and Cape Town are.

So much of it is good, so much of it is embarrassing to a South African audience, entirely unrealistic, cliched.

Is it so hard to make South Africans the star of a show about South Africa? But no, let's focus on a strong independet British lady ho doesn't get how it goes in SA un-corrupting the CT police force, fighting for justice and saving the day. Does South Africa really need that sort of protagonist in 2024? Entirely no because she doesn't represent South Africa.

I think what gets me is the cheap shots taken in the writing. The P word being used in the context of a cat. Who hasn't done that before?

It's great to see RZA on the screen but South African characters could've done with being written with more dimension. I suppose most of the budget went on Dormer.

This is a much better than average TV murder mystery series. The murder mystery starts with the discovery of two murders in the same house. A newspaper reporter who is related to the victims and their family, begins investigating and almost immediately runs into opposition from a police detective that she has confronted before. Unfortunately for both of them, they discover that they need each other to solve the mystery which takes many twists and turns, some of them sordid. There is far more going on than you realize until all is uncovered. Everybody is hiding secrets. This is definitely worth watching.

No much to see in this tv show. Everything you want to see is in the last two episodes. Most contents in first six episodes have nothing to do with the crime, as most are false trails. The show is not just about solving the crime, you can also see how two different characters, Edie Hanson and Forty Bell change throughout the investigation. The show also spends some time on family, mostly, toxic relationships. Some lines are great too. The ending may be very shocked to some viewers. But the background music is a bit annoying. There are some good storylines about family but not too much. Not too much about the characters either. The first episodes give you too many false trails which won't help you with the crime. By the way, good to see Natalie Dormer again.

I can't believe I actually watched all of the episodes of this really just absolute rubbish junk.

You knew right from the start where the story was going, even the supposed "twist". It couldn't have been more obvious. The acting was horrendous, even from Natalie Dormer who at times, seemed to be the only one trying. Although I did think the daughter was slighter better than the son, not that that says much. How were two underage kids allowed to stay in that huge mansion on their own anyway, with not even any "help".

I certainly hope they aren't thinking of a second series, please god no.

I'm giving 1 star for the awesome Cape Town scenery. I wanted to laugh when she waded out into that freezing cold Atlantic Ocean. You put your toe into that water and you think it's going to drop off, ha ha.

The whole thing is just plain bad.

Well, I hope the SA Tourist Board didn't watch this, because it certainly hasn't done Cape Town any favours for potential visitors. Yes it was all about the underbelly of the place, and nowhere in the world is immune from slum areas and gangsters , but it certainly didn't inspire me to visit.

Natalie Dormer played herself so nothing new there.

As to the relationship between the brother and sister - I would certainly be concerned if my brother started cuddling up to me on the bed like a lover! Then there is the neighbours overweight son. He looks more like a 30 year old than 17. Equally Daniel looks more like a chap in his mid 20s than a mid teen.

Then there is the incompetent police force. Are the lower ranks in SA so completely stupid ? Have they no gumption, and I'd certainly question the police training methods if they churn out idiots as portrayed in this series. If this really is typical of police forces then SA is really in trouble.

Superb drama with good acting all round and an incandescent performance from Natalie Dormer. Surprises galore as the story develops with a touch of thriller in the final episodes. Nice to see Darrel Bristow-Bovey expanding his writing skills into screenplay. British, Australian, and South African self critique often seems depressingly and uneccesarily harsh, and this show has not been spared in that regard; but I think Bristow-Bovey has successfully explored the underbellies of race, class, and sexuality here, while opening up the quite complex themes of money, power, and control in upbringing. Watch this show!

The description of this series was interesting but failed to live up to my expectations. I was a bit surprised that Natalie Dormer, main character, was a producer. She has been associated with far better productions in the past. The storyline had great promise: the death of one man, the beating resulting in a coma for his wife in their home, the suspects being their 18 year old son and/or his younger sister. Add in a police officer in charge of the case with a checkered past, a news reporter (Dormer) who was related to the deceased and a news paper editor more interested in sensationalism than fact. A lot of this story is filled with cliches but worse was the dialogue which seemed amateurish. The "White Lies" apparently were the result of secrets and instead the Title should have been "Secrets."

Just finished watching episode 4 and I am really looking forward to finishing this series. The relationship between Brendon and Natalie and their historic animosity adds a layer of partiality to their respective perspectives when it comes to who committed the murders, obscuring the audiences perception of who could be the correct suspect. Every suspect from the children, the maid and the neighbors all have questionable aspects to their character which the show has portrayed very well, keeping things suspenseful. Daniel's role is a challenging one to execute in the sense that the character has to manage the loss of his parents, protecting his sister, apprehensively accepting his absent auntie help whilst handling the predicament he has gotten himself into with gang members. Daniel manages to execute this role very well. The relationship between Daniel and Jamie is very odd in nature. I still cant put my finger on what is happening there or whether they are complicit in the murders however, the show successfully makes the audience apprehensive of all the characters in the show. What I have enjoyed most about this show so far is that rather than the quest for the truth, the script prompts to audience to be concerned with how people react to the bits of information they come across. It demonstrate the complexity of human relationships and the path that leads to certain decisions in the lives of couples, families and individuals that can never be fully understood by an external audience filled with prejudices and snap judgments.

Great story line, great acting, looking forward to finishing the series as soon as possible!

The filming was terrible. One scene was only two people in the scene and then you see an officer sneak by the tree into the house.

Maybe they should of had better cinematography You could see where the cuts and retakes where at in the scene.

South Africa is beautiful and it shows the beauty of the country and even using the local people that live in the country. I love the main actress that is in the show. Someone to watch on other shows. The girl is a Terrible actress or maybe it was the writers that don't know how to guide her in this series

Kept my intrest but just wasn't worth the watch.

I like Natalie Dormer, but not in this. It was one of those series that relies on violins to create a sense of drama and a repeated set of facial expressions from the main actors (especially her!) that end up being quite boring.

If they hadn't tried to stretch this to 8 episodes it could have been good- all the elements were there with a strong cast, etc. And it was interesting to see a South African series and setting.

The character of Jamie was of particular annoyance, there was a subtlety with the other characters that I didn't feel from her. The last episode, which I'd felt dragged into and relief to finally get there, was a let down. It's like someone pressed half speed from episode two and then fast forward right at the end. Unsatisfying.

There was also a sense of imbalance with the characters. Several were really intriguing, like Robert, but their stories were sort of forgotten about and instead we returned to less intriguing facial expressions. There were also plot elements that were just nonsensical- an example of a series where less would have been more.

I am utterly gobsmacked by such atrocious acting, scripting, and directing in this show but have committed to watching through to the end. Avi is probably the only character whose acting isn't insulting on some level. And what's with the incestuously obsessive Jaime, is that a typical South African familial scenario? Natalie Dormer has no natural flow, uses facial ticks to express herself, and is overall pretty irritating to watch, but I can't stop watching, I'm committed! I don't even know what to say about the coppers portrayed in this series, like they just pulled some random bus driver and grocery store clerk off the street and threw them into the cast. This show is just so strange and awful, can't believe any right of mind person invested money in its production. And I can't believe I'm continuing to spend precious life moments watching it!!