REVIEW: We Were Dangerous

There’s so much to admire about We Were Dangerous that it’s best to begin at the beginning.

Set in 1954, this sharply drawn drama follows a group of spirited teenage girls sent to a remote New Zealand island, a place dressed up as a reformatory but built to break them. Labeled “delinquents”—often unjustly—they’ve been targeted for refusing to conform. Their resistance triggers a bold escape plan that sets the tone for what’s to come.

Directed by Māori filmmaker Josephine Stewart-Te Whiu, this is a fierce and finely calibrated debut. At just 82 minutes, We Were Dangerous covers a lot of ground without ever losing its emotional thread. Executive produced by Taika Waititi the film refuses to flinch from the darker truths of colonization, especially the ways it tries to dominate female bodies—including through forced sterilization.

The story unfolds through the voice of the school’s headmistress, played with terrifying conviction by Rima Te Wiata. Her character is a product of colonial conditioning and misogyny, convinced that she’s rescuing these girls by molding them into marriage material. She drills them in posture, etiquette, and obedience. Her motto: “Life’s easier if you don’t resist.” It’s a chilling belief, one shaped by self-loathing and projected onto the girls she cannot control.

But the girls are not so easily broken.

Erana James (of The Wilds) is a standout as Nellie, the so-called ringleader—brimming with wit, boldness, and barely contained rage. When her first escape attempt fails, the punishment is severe: the girls are relocated to an island once used as a leper colony. “If it can contain leprosy,” a male official reasons, “it can contain a few girls in heat.”

That tells you exactly what they're up against.

Each girl carries her own scar. Louisa (Nathalie Morris), from an affluent family, was labeled a “sex delinquent” for falling in love with a female tutor. Daisy (Manaia Hall), just twelve, sees more truth in Nellie’s defiance than in anything the Christian authorities preach. And Nellie? She wasn’t raised in sin. She simply didn’t belong to anyone. So the state stepped in—to claim her, correct her, control her.

As one character says, “It’s very difficult to redeem a girl who believes there’s nothing wrong with her.”

The island, filmed on Ōtamahua and captured with raw beauty by cinematographer María Inés Manchego, becomes a wild and untamed character in its own right. The colonial rules the Matron imposes unravel in this rugged landscape. Cam Ballantyne’s spirited score claps like a heartbeat beneath scenes of rebellion and restlessness. The girls talk back in Māori, fall asleep in class, and even make a twisted game out of catching rats. The absurdity of their punishment only fuels their bond.

Then, one night, a girl vanishes into the medical hut—and everything shifts. Nellie realizes the price of staying quiet. A second escape plan takes shape, riskier and more urgent than the first. It demands full buy-in from Louisa and Daisy, forcing the group to confront their trust issues and buried fears. Either they all make it out—or none of them will.

The stakes are clear. The danger, real. And while the film rushes through some of its strongest emotional terrain—especially the fractures between the girls—it never loses sight of its core. The performances are grounded and nuanced, especially from James and Morris, who never allow their characters to become symbols. They remain vividly, stubbornly human.

We Were Dangerous is honest about the systems that aim to silence women. It’s funny in moments, tender in others, and unflinching in its rage. There’s joy in it too—a kind of hard-won joy that comes only from surviving something designed to erase you.

It may be brief, but it doesn’t need to be longer to make its point.

To borrow from one of the girls: We Were Dangerous may be short—but it’s precious.

Release Information

We Were Dangerous will premiere in Los Angeles on Thursday, April 3, 2025, followed by one-week theatrical runs beginning Friday, April 4 in five key markets:

• Los Angeles, CA

• New York, NY

• San Francisco, CA

• Austin, TX

• Seattle, WA

The release will expand to 15 additional cities beginning April 11, with a special opening in Toronto on April 10:

• San Diego, CA

• Vancouver, BC

• Denver, CO

• Washington, D.C.

• Miami, FL

• Atlanta, GA

• Chicago, IL

• Boston, MA

• Montreal, QC

• Toronto, ON

• Portland, OR

• Philadelphia, PA

• Houston, TX

We Were Dangerous will be playing in 20 markets total during its initial rollout. It will debut at Premium VOD June 3; general VOD follows June 13.