Grim and depressing at times, hopeful and bright at others, I loved every single second of 'Faraway Downs'.
For mine, 'Australia' was a good film, destined to buckle under the unfair weight of expectation (and nowhere near as bad as some critics would have us believe), that could have done with a little more fleshing out of some characters and situations.
The six 'Faraway Downs' episodes - basically a Director's Cut of the much-hyped movie that was panned by some, but on a streaming platform rather than in the cinemas - accomplishes this and more.
An additional hour of footage creates depth and of course allows more spectacular shots of the Northern Territory - arguably the scenery is the real star of 'Faraway Downs' and Baz Luhrmann showcases the unique landscape in a way that only he can. It is breathtakingly beautiful.
Lady Sarah Ashley, the irascible and mostly-nameless Drover, Nullah and even the evil Fletcher are better characters thanks to the additional screen time.
The acting is brilliant across the board. Arguably, David Wenham's Fletcher and Brandon Walters as Nullah outshine superstars Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman but they are all very good, even if Kidman's Lady Sarah is a little cliched at first.
The storyline and tension builds to an almighty crescendo in the sixth and final chapter, set in Darwin. Events taking place in that sixth chapter will certainly be a talking point - I thought it worked well.
From a good film to a great miniseries. I for one am very glad Baz Luhrmann found the additional cutting room footage and decided to work on this project during the pandemic slowdown. Bravo!
For mine, 'Australia' was a good film, destined to buckle under the unfair weight of expectation (and nowhere near as bad as some critics would have us believe), that could have done with a little more fleshing out of some characters and situations.
The six 'Faraway Downs' episodes - basically a Director's Cut of the much-hyped movie that was panned by some, but on a streaming platform rather than in the cinemas - accomplishes this and more.
An additional hour of footage creates depth and of course allows more spectacular shots of the Northern Territory - arguably the scenery is the real star of 'Faraway Downs' and Baz Luhrmann showcases the unique landscape in a way that only he can. It is breathtakingly beautiful.
Lady Sarah Ashley, the irascible and mostly-nameless Drover, Nullah and even the evil Fletcher are better characters thanks to the additional screen time.
The acting is brilliant across the board. Arguably, David Wenham's Fletcher and Brandon Walters as Nullah outshine superstars Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman but they are all very good, even if Kidman's Lady Sarah is a little cliched at first.
The storyline and tension builds to an almighty crescendo in the sixth and final chapter, set in Darwin. Events taking place in that sixth chapter will certainly be a talking point - I thought it worked well.
From a good film to a great miniseries. I for one am very glad Baz Luhrmann found the additional cutting room footage and decided to work on this project during the pandemic slowdown. Bravo!