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Emma Booth and Ewen Leslie in The Gloaming (2020)

User reviews

The Gloaming

105 reviews
7/10

Meh

You cant fault the Tasmanian landscape or the cinematography at all. There is a really haunting feeling to the whole production which is right on point. But then there is something really mediocre about the acting and script. And it's really surprising because there are some really great actors in it. But all the characters are just so ridiculously clichéd. The storyline had such great promise too; murder, religious cults, family secrets and convict history. What more could you ask for?! But it too was incredibly clichéd and none of the plot twists were even slightly surprising. Overall it was ok. But I had just hoped for so much more.
  • vickiphillips-47898
  • Jan 2, 2020
  • Permalink
8/10

Not a bad series as far as Australian attempts go.

Warning, no spoilers except for the fact that no Australian would call the vehicle Freddie drives a truck. It's what Aussies refer to as a ute. Maybe the script writer isn't an Aussie and no other member of the cast and crew is either else someone would have picked up on the fact that the bloody vehicle is not a truck but a bloody ute.

Apart from that it's not a bad show.
  • John_Wagenvoort
  • Jan 2, 2020
  • Permalink
6/10

Great-ish First Season

It's a good watch. The style and some other elements borrows heavily from True Detective Season One. I would have given it a 7 or 8 except for one thing, one of the central villains a Scottish Australian is played by a New Zealand Maori with a thick NZ accent. This is utterly ridiculous considering she's supposed to be a 5th generation Australian descended from Scottish convicts.
  • bajackman
  • Feb 15, 2020
  • Permalink

Derivative, Wooden, Amateurish

Another embarrassing Aussie production trying to copy what everyone else does and ending up with a complete mess.

A clunky script, dull characters and completely derivative story combine to make this show not the Nordic Noir it wants to be but Tassie Try-hard!

It is over filtered and over styled, seemingly focused far more on how it looks (leading to some really bad calls on make up and costume..would Molly McGee really put heavy eyeliner on each day when she can barely get out of bed?)

Even the shots of the the ravishing scenery are somewhat ruined through the endless repetition of a snow capped Mount Wellington.

Yet another missed opportunity.

Stan have done some good Tv (Wolf Creek series one) but recent productions whilst well funded are totally missing the mark.
  • amelia-269-862806
  • Jan 10, 2020
  • Permalink
6/10

Honest Review

This show starts off intriguing enough yet losers it's touch, seems not to concentrate on one thing at a time but 4-5 different things at a time.The landscape is brilliant the acting is on cue.Yet the story is a little strange.Am only up to Episode 6 and it's not answering nothing as yet. Due to being Australian I will watch the end of it but it's watchable and interesting maybe you need to make up your own mind.
  • heno-45762
  • Jan 1, 2020
  • Permalink
6/10

Good premise, but misses the mark

  • karenlou313
  • Jan 30, 2022
  • Permalink
9/10

Bingeworthy

This is a great binge watch. Moody and intriguing, it starts as a slow burn, which allows for a delicious and expanding experience. Loved that they don't rush to the reveals, but let us enjoy trying to figure out the characters as the investigation unfolds - Visually stunning with complexity and intrigue, it's a satisfying and complete story. Those characters are worth another outing, and the casting is spot on. I hope they do another season, with a new, equally interesting storyline - I'm grateful they didn't succumb to 'cliffhanger bait' so the next season can be fresh and complete like this one. Also makes me want to visit Tasmania!
  • trish-maher
  • Jan 5, 2020
  • Permalink
6/10

I keep watching....

....but I don't know what the heck is going on. I'll give it a few more episodes with something better happen!
  • IceQueen99
  • May 2, 2021
  • Permalink
9/10

Slow burning and cinematic

I thoroughly enjoyed watching The Gloaming. The slow burn and cinematic landscapes set the atmosphere so wonderfully and pulled the watcher in seamlessly. The onscreen presence of Emma Booth as Molly McGee and her chemistry with Ewen Leslie as Alex O'Connell along with a character filled support cast simply made this series. I love that the series was unashamedly Australian, it makes me want to visit Tasmania now more than ever. I look forward to seeing if there is a second series. We need more quality TV like this!
  • meghanstreet
  • Feb 9, 2020
  • Permalink
6/10

Mixing a pseudo-supernatural mystery in a detective soap opera has gone better.

A really clichéd, hack-job of a production. Even the hallucinations/specters are less mysterious than pointless. At one point, the actors were even directed to move stealthily past a graveyard in the dark, but with "torches" on!?
  • connorundrumme
  • Jan 11, 2021
  • Permalink
4/10

I Want to Love It- But....

  • nathanoakes-11484
  • Jan 4, 2020
  • Permalink
9/10

Terrific first season

So enjoyed this first series and hoping for a second ! Loved the scandi noir feeling of the storytelling and cinematography. Terrific characters and very unsettling. Really enjoyed this one !
  • mandyhelum
  • Jan 5, 2020
  • Permalink
7/10

Entertaining though a bit over dramatic

Intriguing storyline with the two main characters portrayed by talented actors. The Tasmanian scenery is incredible! Unfortunately the rest of the characters are pretty over-acted, many are clichéd and the child actors leave alot to be desired...
  • AlexGreen88
  • Jan 20, 2020
  • Permalink
3/10

What a load of rubbish!

  • jell95
  • Jan 7, 2020
  • Permalink
6/10

Not as bad as you might hear. Not so good either.

First of all, the acting is not "wooden" - plenty of emotion going on here, consistent with the characters.

Are there cliches? - yes - property development is the root of all evil - well, that might just be an endemic problem ("Mar a Lago" anyone?). Woman detective who's challenged as a bad mother, and operating ("feistily," outside the rules). Headmaster of a school with an obviously troubled conscience. Guy with skinhead style is very unlikable and suspicious, protected by his Mama. Weird "church." All very cliched parts of the plot.

Scenery? Yes -it's interesting to to see the scenery of Tasmania.

The main problem is the supernatural mumbo-jumbo. A phony church with weird biblical references, strange witchy symbols, and an apparent witch wanna-be devoted to her upswept hair-do, smiling sardonically.

I'm watching to see how it all pans out - what the hell else do I have to do these days? But despite the positives it sorta has a cheesy smell.
  • Rogermex
  • May 30, 2021
  • Permalink
6/10

Australian ?

Why would any Australian call a Holden Ute a truck! ??
  • hickeydrf
  • May 26, 2020
  • Permalink
10/10

Loved it

Don't ya just love it when other reviewers proclaim that any favorable reviews must be fake? Guess what? Some of us DO love the show and we don't try to tell others how to think!
  • Brin2070
  • Jan 10, 2020
  • Permalink
7/10

Lovely look at Tasmania

The show was ok it sort of lacked depth for the characters. It lacked suspense so it was very average. The scenery was awesome.
  • dkubehansi
  • Jan 12, 2020
  • Permalink
10/10

Loved every minute!

I've binged this in a day! Loved everything about it! Great story , lots of twists n turns !
  • gavinchadwick
  • Dec 31, 2019
  • Permalink
6/10

So out of touch with reality

  • Tiny T
  • Jan 18, 2021
  • Permalink
3/10

Beautiful but empty and cliched

The only five-star performance is that of the incredibly beautiful Tasmanian landscape. The story is pretentious and ultimately too neatly sown up at the last episode, an episode where one pleaded to be put out of one's misery with more false endings than the final chapter of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

The dialogue was stilted, awkward, the story line strived hard to have some of the pagan horror of Midsommor or The Wickerman with none of the authentic feel of those movies and the character's motivations and actions too predictable.

I see there are a couple of ten star reviews in this page. Clearly from people associated with the production - which would probably encompass at least twenty per cent of the Tasmanian population.

Finally - the sound quality for the dialogue was really poor and the actor playing the 14 year old daughter of the main detective was so atrocious at acting one can only surmise she was someone in the production company's niece or neighbour or selected only on the basis of her looks. Given this was a fairly essential role, this let down the entire cast.
  • Barty2811
  • Jan 2, 2020
  • Permalink
9/10

Good show

Great show takes a bit to get into it but then it had me hooked binged it over two nights

Loved the Tasmanian scenes.
  • jason-592-267370
  • Jan 4, 2020
  • Permalink
6/10

Garbage haunting nonsense

Would be a better mystery without the magic haunting nonsense. Unless the guy is just psycho.
  • dwpatter53
  • Mar 24, 2021
  • Permalink
3/10

Cliched script and wooden performances

Everyone feels like they're acting in isolation from each other. Trying way too hard to be Nordic Noir. Plus, the little references to our history eg "Imagine how the convicts felt?" FFS what Australian would ever say that! Again, an Australian production trying to be like the rest of the world.
  • lsheppo
  • Jan 3, 2020
  • Permalink
7/10

Atmospheric drama with red ute truck

Very atmospheric drama with a beautiful Tasmania backdrop, another superb acting stint by Ewen Leslie and Emma Booth but after watching Aaron Pedersen in Mystery Road, thought he looked out of place in a suit minus his trademark hat, but that could be a personal thing. The only thing that really annoyed me was constantly referring to the red ute as a red truck. Why must Aussie writers/directors insist on appeasing American viewers?
  • rosebx-60362
  • Aug 19, 2020
  • Permalink

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