Savage River

Savage River was a brilliantly paced crime/drama with an incredible cast to back it up. From the outset, the plot line found a grounded feel, and escalated in a suspenseful, subversive manner.

The cinematography was stunning and shots pretty laconic. The soundscape behind it was charming no doubt.

Defiantly emblematic of regional Australia and thematically hit the nail on the head of many issues facing these townships.

The spoiler free ending was deeply satisfying - sticking the balance of answering as many questions as it perhaps raised. Really hopping that along with Mystery Road Origins, we see this renewed for another season.

The style of this miniseries is to be dropped into a situation with no context or information. We start with following along a young woman who is just getting out of prison on parole and apparently returns to the very small hometown she started out in as a young girl. Plot unrolling happens by character discovery and interactions, as well as the art of deciphering any kind of relationships and who's who. Information is slow to be had, and we don't really know what kind of a person she is or anything that has happened to develop her, inside of prison or out. The acting is decent enough, and there is some intensity which is a good start... even if fairly cliche for this storyline. Ultimately, if you find entertainment in series such as Rectify or the recent Sandra Bullock movie The Unforgivable, then I think this is worth a look, although I don't think this Australian production will outmatch either of those in writing quality or casting. Personally, I'm looking forward to seeing it through.

Engrossing, quiet, almost Altmanesque whodunit that weaves an intricate web of criss-crossing, interconnected characters: it seems everyone is related to, or at the very least knows, everyone else in the small Australian town called Savage River. The very beautiful Katherine Langford is the nominal lead, but it's really an ensemble piece. I was kept guessing about its twin mysteries - past and present. Its only real flaw - and it's a trend I notice in more and more TV series lately - is that it's too long; it probably should have been a 2-hour movie, and would have worked better that way. *** out of 4.

Don't expect anything avant-garde. The story is one that's been done before so it starts out sorta cliche, basically how you'd expect people of a small town to react when somebody just comes out of prison for murder; you're just thrown in the middle of it and begins with more of character introduction. So far it's just about mediocre but interesting enough for a watch, the 'twist' at the end of the premiere episode is set to make things a little more exciting. I'm not expecting it to be a ground breaking miniseries but I'm a fan of Katherine Langford so I'm looking forward to seeing this all goes. She's more known for her American roles so it's nice to see her in an Australian series, didn't even know she was one till now. I don't have high expectations and don't think you should either if you really want to enjoy it because it probably won't live up to or eclipse other bigger productions with a similar premise of just-outta-prison, trying fit back into society stories. It doesn't seem to have a huge budget so it'll have to lean on the story a lot which is good as it should be, but on the other hand makes the show a bit matte to look at, makes the small town surroundings seem more realistic but no pizazz. Still, it's not a bad start and I'm looking forward to the rest of the season. Will update rating if anything drastically changes about the show.

I've finished the series now and the last two episodes were really good, turned out better than I thought it would. The show kept it's mystery and suspense really well and the twists and turns at the end were well worth the wait. The side plots are also really developed well and keeps your interest. I'd recommend a watch, starts off decent and it's a show that needs to be watched in it's entirety.

Got me hooked to watch the whole thing in two days after work. Good writing, story was good and kept you wondering who done it. It needed to show longer pauses when the camera shot was on pieces of paper or texts; I couldn't read what it said. Character development was slow, Miki did develop somewhat and the story had enough movement to keep you watching. There were some good acting moments notably from the "good news in a box moment" around the table, that moment was very believable. It just showcases a very Australian way of life from chops for dinner, Vegemite toast, pub life, driving Holdens, yeah m8. Good job 👍🏻