WE WERE DANGEROUS

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Storyline (warning: spoilers)

Of the many enduring images from We Were Dangerous, there’s one which truly captures the joy and freedom of girlhood. Forced into yet another day of labour on their island outpost, the group of misfit girls drop the cleaning cloths and mops and start to dance, arms raised. This story is taking place in Aotearoa. It’s 1954 inside Te Motu School for Incorrigible and Delinquent Girls, an institution established on an island formerly populated by lepers. “If the island can contain leprosy it could probably manage a few girls on heat,” one of the male head honchos says. Ruled by a withering woman known only as The Matron the island faces a huge threat in a rebellious trio of pals plotting to bring it down.
We Were Dangerous is much more than just a coming-of-age caper. Set against a backdrop of colonisation, patriarchy, conservatism and godliness, it touches on many difficult parts of New Zealand’s recent history. Carried by the incredible central trio of Nelly, Daisy and Lou, their brand of cheeky rebellion and bone-deep connection is infectious. Bunking together as “three girls in a leaky hut”, their bleak backstories are slowly revealed as they grow closer, pulling mattresses off beds and eventually collapsing in a cosy cackling pile that anyone who has ever been to a girl’s sleepover will instantly recognise.
As a counter to their carefree joie de vivre is Rima Te Wiata, sensational as the tight-laced, po-faced Matron. While she could have easily slipped into Trunchbullian caricature, her performance reveals glimmers of humanity and doubt underneath all the bible-bashing and internalised misogyny. Barry also steals every scene as the bumbling caretaker, extremely out of his depth in taking wayward teens on an island-wide rat trapping mission. Given that the film has already received critical acclaim internationally, and Stewart-Te Whiu took out the Special Jury Prize for Filmmaking at SXSW, we’re probably best left wanting more than less. Tackling some dark parts of New Zealand history with a deftly light touch, this assured debut has all the makings of an instant coming-of-age classic.