White Mile (1994 TV Movie) User Reviews

there's a lesson here

[SteveSkafte · 7/10 · 12 August 2010]

The intensity of "White Mile" is somewhat surprising. Oh, I don't mean intensity in the way the DVD case will have you believe - all action and peril in the vein of "The Edge". In fact, the white water rafting is ultimately a very brief portion of the story. The stars of the film (Alan Alda and Peter Gallagher) offer up both very solid and very conflicted characters. At first, the depth is a unexpected thing. We aren't given basic sketches created simply to graft onto a script. Michael Butler has written this film as, essentially, a moral dilemma. In the end, it is so much devoted to this approach that we never quite get going in a fully emotional sense.

"White Mile" made me think. That's a good thing. It didn't particularly make me feel, but I'm okay with that. The acting was good, the direction adequate, and for something I went into without expectation, I can't say I'm disappointed. Good film.

I like my water blue.

[=G= · 7/10 · 28 November 2003]

"White Mile" tells the true story of a driven, success-at-all-cost ad agency executive who puts together a fishing and white water rafting trip for a group of agency and client people so they can bond and make a tenuous business relationship more secure. The trip goes bad when a raft overturns resulting in death and a difficult search through gray areas for a black and white sense of culpability. The film is a solid product given its docudramatic limitations and refuses to be dumbed down and cheapened up for the sake of entertainment. A smart flick with some good messages about the absolute nature of truth, matters of conscience, and just saying "no". (B)

The ultimate cost of a manipulative boss....

[merklekranz · 7/10 · 15 February 2008]

Alan Alda realistically portrays an all too common tyrannical boss in this true to life adventure. Companies are self serving, and that combined with a self serving executive proves fatal for five men. Anyone who has worked under such conditions will immediately recognize the plight of only doing something, you obviously feel uncomfortable with, to please a boss. The ill-fated rafting trip exposes Alan Alda's character as manipulative, uncaring, and devoid of conscience. The white water expedition is really well done, and the viewer gets a good idea of just how quickly things can go terribly wrong. Highly recommended. - MERK

Riveting

[G-Man-25 · 23 August 2001]

Combining the best elements of adventure, suspense, character study AND courtroom drama, "White Mile" is a smart and engrossing film, made all the more fascinating due to the fact that it's (at least partially) based on true events. Alan Alda gives an astonishing performance as Dan Cutler, a hard-assed, unsympathetic ad executive who, convinced that his underlings have lost their competitive edge in the business, bullies them (along with a couple of their clients) into going on a whitewater rafting trip. Tragedy strikes the group on their outing, and when the details of the accident look like they may be swept under the rug and dismissed, one of the men who survived (Peter Gallagher, also very fine)decides to come forth and tell the truth when Cutler and the company are sued by the wife of one of the deceased.

If you only know Alda from his days as the nice-guy Hawkeye on "M*A*S*H," he's sure to surprise you here with his intense, tightly-wound portrayal. Expertly filmed by veteran director Robert Butler, "White Mile" is riveting all the way. Excellent, atmospheric score by Pray For Rain. Not to be missed! ****stars

Average made for tv movie

[csab-39797 · 5/10 · 29 March 2019]

There is nothing about this film that I would describe as a "thriller" or suspense movie, it's more of a drama. So a group of coworkers go rafting and the boat flips. Apparently there were too many people on the raft for the catagory 5 rapids. The part of the film I thought was a little ridiculous was after the boat flips the men, who are all wearing life vests act as if they never swam before. One man was trying to swim upstream against the rapids instead of to shore. It was a bit unrealistic. Anyway Alan Alda's character is a domineering boss who planned the trip and is the unsympathetic hard CEO who sees his workers as weak or strong, this I take it is the "thriller" part as there becomes controversy surrounding the trip that was planned by him.

LIGHT SMILE

[MadamWarden · 4/10 · 20 October 2020]

Look, this is a silly made for TV movie. It's mildly distracting and week bring a light smile at the B-grade script and plot.

Not good, not bad, and not worth making.

[djbanks1 · 5/10 · 7 December 2019]

Lackluster. A lot of notability actors that didn't have anything better to do at the time.

Well-Made Film In All Respects.

[rsoonsa · 10/10 · 5 December 2000]

This work relates, speaking in broad terms, a narrative (based upon a true story) of a group of executives that is pressured into taking part in a whitewater raft trip, during which an unfortunate incident occurs. A subsequent lawsuit which addresses the incident completes a good portion of the film. The entire production wants nothing, as all involved perform at a high level. The scenario, by Michael Butler, is stripped neatly to its essence, and immediately engages the viewer with its combination of visceral excitement, suspense, and character development. The direction by the veteran Robert Butler is precise and enhanced by the splendidly balanced casting. Alan Alda gives his finest performance, softly creating a characterization which fascinates as it develops. Among other cast members, Peter Gallagher, Bruce Altman, and Robert Loggia offered nary a flaw in this seamless tale. The scenes immediately leading to, and including, the actual raft trip are enthralling as a test of strength between Alda's character and his companions, a test that reveals varying moral sensibilities. Editing, in a film reflecting issues of larger scope than are commonly seen, provides an important framework; here, a linear structure is created and moves smartly. The cinematography and lighting, under the aegis of Lloyd Ahern II, can be enthusiastically endorsed (with a wide range of scena) as a standard to be envied. The score by Pray For Rain, refreshingly non-DJ, implies applicable emotion neatly and nicely throughout this interesting and beautifully balanced motion picture. An obviously high level of preparation by all involved brings forth one of the finest films of the 90s.

Worth watching

[searchanddestroy-1 · 16 February 2014]

This TV movie have already been aired in France, but I certainly missed it. Anyway, the story described here, and an actual one, is interesting at the most. In the line of DELIVERANCE and THE EDGE, but also of an another french movie called FAIR¨PLAY, released in 2006, and telling the story of a bunch of executive lead by a ruthless head chief who push them to the limit, in order to make them real "killers" for the business. Like in this item, character description is at a top level. and also in FAIR PLAY, it is question of rafting in dangerous waters.

I guess many more films or épisodes were made around this scheme, because it is actually very used in major companies for their executives, to make them real sharks, for each other and for the clients.

Terrifying.

Excellent drama

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 29 August 2016]

Ruthless advertising agency head Dan Cutler (Alan Alda in superbly slimy and fearsome form) pushes the men who work for him as well as several clients to participate in a white water rafting expedition with tragic and disastrous consequences.

Director Robert Butler keeps the gripping story moving at a steady pace and presents all the startling events in an evenly balanced manner without ever resorting to needless flashy flourishes or sappy sentiment. Michael Butler's tough-minded script boldly addresses such provocative issues as abuse of power, moral responsibility, and the brutal spiritual price to pay for tenaciously abiding by and adhering to the ferocious cutthroat nature of the corporate mentality. The uniformly fine acting by the top-drawer cast holds this picture together, with especially stand-out work from Peter Gallagher as the conflicted and conscience-stricken Jack Robbins, Robert Loggia as lovably gruff retiree Nick Karas, Bruce Altman as the amiable David Koenig, Fionula Flanagan as Nick's hard-nosed wise Gena, Dakin Matthews as the decent and honest Andy Thornell, and Ken Jenkins as the shaken Jerry Taggert. Lloyd Ahern II's sparkling cinematography provides lots of breathtaking images of the roaring rapids. The spare moody score by Pray for Rain rates as another significant asset. An absolute powerhouse.

Very Realistic & Dramatic Story

[koltonbrett · 8/10 · 21 August 2022]

1994 gave us two white water rafting movie experiences: The River Wild and White Mile. Which one is better? They're both great in their own way. The River Wild is an action/thriller while White Mile is more of a drama/thriller. White Mile is a sadder, heavier story. It feels very realistic, almost like watching an actual real life disaster unfolding. I found this specific getaway gone wrong scenario, and the toxic workplace environment element relatable in some hard ways. Going down river rapids outside of a raft is terrifying. To a degree, I knew personally this fear portrayed by these characters. The latter third of this movie is an interesting and emotional court room drama. The characters go back and forth about what is morally right in the aftermath of the tragedy. Alan Alda and Peter Gallagher lead a strong cast of quality actors. They bring the drama and their characters teach us some important lessons. Alda especially nails his role as a conceited, bully of a boss. There is depth here and a heaviness which is successfully conveyed to the viewers.

It's funny how fast humanity can appear and disappear, and usually $ is the magician.

[mark.waltz · 8/10 · 9 July 2023]

The ruthless character played by Alan Alda is probably one of the most complex characters he's ever played, as far from all those smirking guys with easy going charm as he can be. He's a powerful executive who gets together with direct colleagues and clients for a bonding trip on a white water rapids trip that results in death. Right before hand, he has the men sign legal documents which protect him. As the tragedy unfolds, he's seen risking his own life trying to save others (which includes Peter Gallagher and Robert Loggia) and even seems willing to stay behind while others are searched for. But once the trip is over, it's back to ruthlessness, and Alda had plenty of that, regret and guilt oosing from his eyes but never verbally expressed.

You can't win against mother nature, especially when there's water involved, and no matter how powerful a man is, there's always greater forces than them. There's some amusing moments with Loggia and his wife where she discusses his obsession with fishing, indicating that the only picture he carries of her has her holding a fish. As Alda deals with the widows, he holds back his emotions, yet they're clearly visible. He may be a ruthless tyrant in business, but he isn't one that is all business, all the time, his life's blood being profits, so it's a real juicy part and he's excellent. Everyone else takes a back seat but gets little moments to show their grief as well as their anger over how responsibility is deflected away from where it should be.