The Tourist

I do not want want to go into serious details about this, mostly because it just hitting the 8 out of 10 mark for me with basically everything. Story, script, acting, dialogues, camerawork, score, all making it way above average. However, the female lead, the policewoman Danielle Macdonald, is a revelation. She manages to be extremely cute and horribly annoying at the same time. In that case, I reckon, I also have to give credit to the director. The conclusion of the story is profoundly shocking. What a ride!

The Australian Outback is another world..lonely, desolate and mind-numbing.

So when a sophisticated Irishman wakes up with no memory of who he is or his past, the endless expanse ironically imprisons him together with the locals who are either naive and innocent or who know more about his past.

Even the secondary characters highlight what living and working in such remote isolation can do to the human psyche..it's hard not to go crazy from nothing to do and nothing to see.

The landscape itself is a key character...passive and active at the same time.

But it has all the ingredients of an Australian mystery..dark, raw, and the right dose of dry humour.

I avoided watching this because i felt i had bigger expectations for it than deserved but it proved me wrong. The Tourist is the story of man trying to rediscover who he is after losing all of his memories due to a car crash. It is well executed, you get invested and root for the good of the main character even if it seems disaster follows him for a reason.

You get to know pieces of every character's stories trying to understand how everything fits together and the humor is great, it is almost as if the absurd was another character playing a crucial part in the story.

The scenes felt complete you truly dive into these remote places and the people living there. There are things/characters to hate which is an accomplishment on its own as it gives a more realistic experience despite the obviously fictional.

It's a short and fairly simple story that truly manages to do exactly what you would expect in terms of quality, the acting is also perfect for the story and very well done. If you are a binge watcher it is the perfect sunday evening mini series to enjoy.

"The Tourist" has a very "Fargo" feel to it, set in the vast open fields of Australia which makes it the more fascinating. Starting out with action and a mystery, this short series has enough eclectic elements to keep you captivated. First, there is a mysterious guy, followed by a very sympathetic "cop," delightfully played by Danielle Macdonald. This actress is the biggest revelation here. Danielle portrays the character with so much heart that every scene with her character Helen just shines. More quirky characters are introduced, notably the American cowboy played by an Icelandic actor, the detective, and the cop trainee. The plot does get convoluted but loose ends are still tightened up so you don't lose your grip. The cinematography, camera work, and editing do justice to the sweeping Australian Outback beauty. Best of all, there is some snide dark humor that's quite enjoyable from characters that you least expect to be funny in real life.

This looked good and once Ólafur Darri Ólafsson entered the scene, I remembered that I'd seen this before. Add in Danielle Macdonald (the trainee constable) and Damon Herriman, you know it's going to be one hell of a good show!

The scenery is, at times spectacular. And others, down and gritty. Kinda like the story itself.

The story is filled with twists and turns as you learn a bit more about who - and what - the tourist really is, so don't take a break without putting it on pause.

I'm glad Netflix put this on "rerun". I've actually run out of things to view and this is refreshing and actually smart. What a change from the usual stuff that's out there now.

Give it a whirl - and you'll be up at 4 AM too if you binge it too late in the day.