Australian outback has a terrifyingly otherworldly sort of vibe to it. It’s like Mars but with proper gravity. Vast open spaces at their most unsettling.
You don’t want to wake up in the middle of it. You certainly don’t want to do it with amnesia. But then again, without it, The Tourist would have no plot – just Christian Grey, being all rough and tumble and bearded. And with it, we have a man on a quest to regain himself. A quest that becomes more and more regrettable the further he proceeds, as it becomes clearer and clearer that he isn’t (or wasn’t) just an average sort of guy. There’s a beautiful woman who seems determined to tag along with him. Then there’s a policewoman determined to go above and beyond her limited duties to help him even if it means defying her overbearing turd of a fiancé. And then there are people actively trying to kill him, including a fantastically proportioned American cowboy played by a fantastically proportioned Icelandic giant. Seriously, the gut on this guy is legendary and he cuts a crazy silhouette which the director uses more than once. He is sent by the main boss - a perpetually LSD-high Greek dealer with an imaginary friend and a fiery temper. What did Jamie Dornan do in his past life to deserve such animosity? Well, you’re just going to have to watch it and find out. It’s only six episodes. Let’s just say sometimes a person is better off not knowing. Especially if they might be in the market for second chances. So, it looks awesome. Outback might be deadly, but it is photogenic. The acting’s great all around, although the cop played by Danielle McDonald is a real standout here. I’ve seen her before, in Skin, and didn’t care one way or another. But here she’s a revelation in vulnerability and determination and quiet easy charm. Dornan’s good too, it’s nice to see that he doesn’t just do the easy thing of relying on his good looks and dubious fame as Anastasia Steele’s spanker. And the ending is so good, so poignant, so…chose your own story. I thought it was great. Until I read that it was renewed for season too. Why? It doesn’t seem like a tv show. It has every making of a miniseries. People really need to learn to leave things alone. Not every single story needs to be exhaustively exploited and overexplained. It’s ok to let people think for themselves. It’s ok to leave some mystery. None of those are popular lines of thinking in this generally dumbed down times we live in, but it’s worthy of a mention.
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