The Tourist

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.

Great mini series. Jamie Dornan is a great actor. I first saw him in The Fall, his brooding presence and hints of psychopathy in this gave me nightmares for a while. He has the ability to convey what lies beneath his exterior just with a look. The fifty shades series sadly did not allow him to show his full potential and was a dire set of films based on a dire set of books.

The Tourist however shows a great return to form from a man that has depth, dark humor and a great screen presence. Initially The Tourist appears to be the story of an unfortunate man embroiled in something he cannot remember and he doesn't understand the events unravelling around him. However as the plot progresses the initially likeable main character has you questioning his veracity.

Touches of dark humour are sprinkled through the plot with some truly great cameos make some of the characters appear flawed and thoroughly unpleasant (Ethan).

Mr Dornan however allows his character to evolve and has you questioning his story to the end.

Loved this, nice to see something a bit different that kept me guessing. More please Jamie!

"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.