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.

I really hoped this was just another great mini-series like the ones that are based on Harlan Coben's books. But it really isn't that good. I don't wanna spoil anything, so I'll try to stick to the broad pros and cons: Pros: The surroudings. The scenery of Tasmania is really beautiful.

The acting is pretty good. No complaints here.

Cons: It's a veeeeery slow show. It draws out every scene like it's a drama serie. The pace is the same every scene. You never get some action. And this is really weird for a series that is about a crime. In the end, I kept watching because I wanted to find out who did it. But the last three episodes felt like a choor.

There's one big mistake in this series. I really can't believe the makers didn't see it when they watched it for themselves.

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 👍🏻

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.

I came to rate this show right after the final episode aired for the first time and was shocked to see only a 6.4 rating.

What do people want?

This show was well written and very well acted; stand out performances from Virginia Gay (who isn't even listed in "top cast" section despite her leading role) and Jaqueline McKenzie among many other fine performances makes this show is compelling viewing in my opinion.

I don't really understand how this has such a low rating. I really enjoyed it and I think if given a chance many other people will too. What does it take to get more than a pass mark?

Do people not want gripping, well made, well performed Australian made drama??