We Were Dangerous
Summary
We Were Dangerousis a heartfelt drama that tells the news report of three misfit in 1954 New Zealand who have been institutionalized due to their so - called delinquency . The pic was directed by Māori filmmaker Josephine Stewart - Te Whiu in her feature debut and is the first feature film film penned by humor writer and cartoonist Maddie Dai . The film debuted at South by Southwest 2024 , where it chop-chop pull together friendly views quick to praise its performance , witticism , and topical discussion of female eubstance autonomy .
While the film has shade reminiscent of its executive producerTaika Waititi ’s movies , the sharp writing , purposeful commission , and emotional execution makeWe Were Dangerousits own affair entirely . This is especially thanks to the pic ’s trio of teenage protagonist , composed of Nellie ( Erana James ) , Daisy ( Manaia Hall ) , and Louisa ( Nathalie Morris ) , and their conflict with the unyielding Matron ( Rima Te Wiata ) . conniption with James and Wiata together are some of the film ’s most memorable , and tense .
SxSW is one of the most darling film festivals out there , and these are the 10 biggest movies to come from it , ranked by Rotten Tomatoes mark .
Screen Rantinterviewed Rima Te Wiata and Erana James about their work onWe Were Dangerous . They were quick to praise Te Whiu ’s directorial techniques and praise their co - stars and dish-shaped on the experience of working together . Wiata also share a titbit of entropy aboutThe Wheel of Timeseason 3 .
Erana James & Rima Te Wiata Discuss Exploring & Relating To Their Characters
Screen Rant : Erana , I spoke with your director Josephine yesterday and she brought up your work onThe Wildsas part of why she need you to be a part of this motion picture . It seems like there are some familiar threads , [ at least in that it ’s about ] little girl run aground on an island . Did any part of that experience help you on this one ?
Erana James : I sense like the parts that serve me were more the physical qualification of the motion-picture show , rather than what that experience leant to the character . The amount of time and , the toilsome hours on the drop-off expression with the wind and the moth-eaten — experience like that helped me going into this cinema , but I experience like , character - wise , it was so different .
I know Jo ’s mentioned that there was something that she saw in The Wilds . I feel like throughout the whole movie , I was like , “ What did she see in me that connects me to Nellie ? ” It was a puzzle I was trying to fancy out . But , in the end , I guess the swordplay is what she loved . But , yeah , I think all the hour on the side of that drop-off were pretty barbarous .
Rima , you are a British - born New Zealander . This movie is determine before your metre , but so much of it seems to be the group meeting of those cultures and Christianity derive into thing — all of that roleplay so much into your character . Was there anything from your own experience that you were able to pull from for this ?
Rima Te Wiata : I lived in England from when I was gestate through to eight years old before moving to New Zealand . Both my parents are New Zealanders . My father ’s Māori and my female parent ’s Pākehā , which is a white New Zealander .
When I was growing up in London , I go to a school that had very old Victorian time value . We had a very ancient headmistress , and I sort of fused her with another instructor that I had . It was literally the remnant of Victoriana , but they were awesome people . They just were very rigorous . Just very , very rigorous .
We Were Dangerous is a drama film about two girls who escape a delinquent center for girls in New Zealand only to be captured and sent to a remote island to continue their punishment. When the two meet a third girl, they develop a rebellious friendship as they face off with a woman whose faith may lead to a troubling outcome.
Erana , was there something about the setting , or Nellie in special , that made you really attracted to this project ?
Erana James : The first thing was that I was so concerned in was working with Josephine . That was the number one matter when I arrive the hand and had my first conversations with her . But yeah , setting it in the fifties in a fictional setting , but also [ having it be ] something that … I ’m half Māori , manifestly , and talking with my dad and his sib [ about ] my family ’s experience with the institution was very interesting to me . Then [ there ’s ] the way of life that it blends with the narration of female friendship and all of the loveliness that happens in this celluloid . I feel like those two dynamics were the things that I was really concerned in .
And then Nellie — Nellie is terrific . She stump me at first because I was like , “ Who is this girl ? ” I just could n’t figure it out . Then , Josephine said , like , “ Be yourself . It ’s fine , ” and I was like , “ Be myself ? Oh my God . ” It was a really hard thing to wrap my head around . I ’m very proud of what I get in her as we went on , but she was more of an unknown and it was the account that I was super sure of .
Rima , over the course of this flick , the Matron pass from being kind of a straight villain to someone who ’s much more layered and good-hearted in a tragic style . How was it for you track that throughout your performance ?
Rima Te Wiata : I was really slap-up to get that across . I did n’t want it to just be black and whitened , [ like ] , “ Here ’s the evil . ” [ I want to make it clear ] for the hearing that they ’d be able to go in and be capable to detect that she too is a dupe of the system that ’s take aim her . She ’s just vomit up what she ’s done , and she needs to make other people follow this because she thinks that she ’s God ’s endowment to everyone .
Josephine Stewart-Te Whiu’s Direction Impacted Everyone’s Performances
I have it away the tone of this moving-picture show because it a dour subject and it run to dark seat , but it ’s so freaking funny – specially the Nellie and Daisy interactions . How was it to ensure you were n’t going too far into the darkness or the humour ?
Erana James : Yeah , that ’s so interesting . I ’m so thrilled that the human relationship with me and Daisy is something that offer so much joyousness and light . Obviously , you could read that in the script , but getting there is something different . The inherent aptitude a muckle of the sentence , especially , I think , for me and Natalie — if I can speak [ for her ] , she ’d probably find this singular … we’re , like , 23 - year - old actors , and we ’re like “ doing the serious job . ”
I think the instinct sometimes was for us to like , examine to get in there . It was an important reminder [ that ] Josephine would give us , like , “ Okay , that ’s a great place to be sitting in , but not at this point in time . ” I think I was tempted a lot of the time to do the drama and find the drama in thing , but we would go in that direction and then Josephine would be like , “ Okay , now let ’s just shine a little bit of light into it over here . ” It ’s like the darkness was layered in , so then we could lift it off from having hold up to that station already .
Rima Te Wiata : I guess Jos was an amazing director to forge with , and for a first lineament , she is so center on and grounded and trustworthy . She listens to your concern . What I really loved about working with her was the way that she does n’t do being a director , if you live what I signify . She did n’t need to [ go ] , “ Okay , everyone ! Now , here we are ! ” She did n’t do any of that . She ’s just a centered , quite unaccented presence — almost ethereal — and yet the power of what she has to offer is about asking the actor a question .
She ’d fare over and it was almost like it was pop off into my subconscious . She ’d just say , “ And what would chance if she … ” and then she ’d just to back like a fiddling lady beetle to the wall and notice again . You ’d have the suggestion , and so you ’d do another take with that psyche . She was n’t one of those director that goes , “ Fantastic . That was splendid . Did it . ” She does n’t do that . It ’s just , “ And now what would hap if … ” You ’re in this constant process of live up to micro sort of things . Just finding the balance of what she want from a take . I really loved working with her .
Erana , when I spoke with Josephine , I compliment how well you , Manaia , and Nathalie sour together , and she said she gave you all kinds of prep to do when you were n’t filming . Do you have a favorite thing you had to do ?
Rima Te Wiata : [ She gave us ] exercises that we did before we start the shoot . They were fascinating .
Erana James : She asked me to write letters in fictional character to Daisy and to Nathalie , essentially before our leakage from the island , and give them words of encouragement and words of wisdom for them to take with them . When we converge each other , I stood up and I do that . I also pull out some art for them , and she ask Manaia to sing a song for each of us . She wrote a strain which she performed for us . It was awesome .
Rima Te Wiata : [ It was to ] foster the connexion so that it ’s what the scenes are about alternatively of , “ Am I doing dear act ? ” If you know what I think of . It ’s about these relationships , so that you could let go of all that and get on with what the crux of the scene is .
Erana James : She wanted me to purchase them each a gift — something small . I think I bought everyone crystal or something , and it was to do with the energy of them as a person , and also of the character . Then , that was something that they could have with them in the scene , to layer in those relationships .
patently , you only get to drop six weeks with people when you do this work , but particularly in mine and Manaia ’s grammatical case , we ’re cousins . [ Our type ] have such a long history with each other , and it was such a beautiful fashion to progress that so quickly . peculiarly for Manaia , who had n’t work on as an thespian before .
Rima Te Wiata : The way that you and Nathalie behaved with her off set too — it was so beautiful to watch . You really did nurture her and take care after her , and I found that a beautiful thing .
Erana James & Rima Te Wiata Share Their Most Memorable Moments With Each Other
I would bed to sleep with each of your pet scenes with the other person .
Rima Te Wiata : There were some pretty ghastly ones , really . Most of the ones that spring to bear in mind , the ace about fighting and [ mogul ] haggle , were also very disturbing and unpleasant . I would n’t say it was the most enjoyable , but it was the most unerasable .
Erana James : I concord . I sort of forgot how awing the scene is because , especially at the top of it , I had so much fun in the romp with you . But when Matron comes into our hut and does the review , and finds the thing that she was n’t meant to and cuts my hair off , it ’s awful .
That was a really hard scene to shoot , but [ with ] the way that we worked and the way that we shot it , the dance that you and I pay off to do at the top of that setting , it was so gratifying to work with you like that , Rima . I remember after that day we were just so thrilled that we get to have a tantrum like that and got to exercise with each other in that mode . So , that was my favorite scene .
Rima Te Wiata Reveals That Sheriam Bayanar Will Not Be In The Wheel Of Time Season 3
Rima , as someone who has readThe Wheel of Timebook serial publication twice through … You were fantastic in that show . Is there anything that you may say about where we ’ll see you in season 3 ?
Rima Te Waita : I ’ll give away that [ Rafe Judkins ] did designate to me personally , when he was doing season two , that if there ’s another season … I could n’t be in season three because of the books — they could n’t get her to gibe into the story — but he was going , “ Look , we ’ve generate plans for you in time of year four . Whether that happens or not , we just do n’t make love . You ’ve make to wait for things to be greenlit . But I think the fact that he learn the clip to do that when he ’s so busy was pretty amazing .
About We Were Dangerous
We Were severe come after a misfit triad determined to mobilize against the arrangement in 1950s New Zealand . This story remind us that the sovereignty over women ’s bodies has long been jeopardise , but in many cases won , through the magnate of female solidarity .
We Were Dangerouspremiered at South by Southwest as part of the fete ’s Narrative Feature Competition .
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We Were Dangerous is a drama moving-picture show about two girls who escape a delinquent centre for girls in New Zealand only to be captured and send to a remote island to continue their punishment . When the two meet a third girl , they develop a rebellious friendship as they face off with a woman whose faith may lead to a worrisome outcome .
