Gripping Australian drama

Tweekums

This six part Australian drama opens with an accident in the Outback; one teenager is killed another is injured. It would probably have been written of a tragic accident if a journalist didn't find the name of the town in a dossier given to him by a government press officer. The journalist, Ned Banks, starts investigating and, with the help of his autistic brother, a hacker, he accesses data on the surviving teenagers phone which shows that what happened wasn't an accident… somebody is doing something in the Outback and they will kill to protect their secret. It isn't long before sinister government agents are after them; desperate to prevent the secret from being exposed… not only because it is embarrassing but because in the wrong hands it could be dangerous.

The 9pm slot on Saturday on BBC4 has been dedicated to Euro-drama for some time but the fact that this was from Australia, and thus in English, didn't make it feel out of place. Like the many Scandinavian dramas shown in the time-slot this was dark and gripping. The story gets the viewer hooked fairly quickly and there is the sense that people are in real danger; including the protagonists. This leads to some uncomfortable, but not gratuitous, scenes; most notably while brother Jesse is mistreated in custody. There is violence, swearing and nudity so if you don't like that sort of thing this won't be for you but if you don't mind and like good grown up drama then this is well worth watching. The cast does a fine job and the director manages to maintain a good sense of tension; even making a building as well known as the Australian Parliament in Canberra look sinister thanks to the way it is shot.

score 9/10

Tweekums 26 October 2014

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw3111389/