The Kettering Incident

I don't often write reviews on IMDb, but I saw all of the other low- rated reviews and wanted to give another opinion. The Kettering Incident is a very polished, well-made, compelling Australian series. The tone is dark and mysterious, creepy at times, with also a small sci-fi twist.

The plot follows a young troubled doctor from the UK who finds herself back home in Kettering, Tasmania after being involved in a missing person's 'incident' some time ago.

The lead acting is superb, although the supporting acting to a lesser extent. There was comment about Elizabeth Debicki being disengaging, but I disagree. She does a great job in portraying her character as a medicated, disturbed person who has suffered a traumatic experience. And her accent is flawless. Matt Le Nevez is also good as the shifty cop who you can't quite trust.

The scenery is spectacular. The look and feel of the show is really enhanced by the sometimes dismal, but equally beautiful Tasmanian setting. The sheer cliff faces of Bruny Island and the peninsula, the green, mossy bush land and imposing misty Mount Wellington and surrounding ranges are all used to great effect.

The show also does well exploring issues which are quintessentially Tasmanian. It portrays the anger some have surrounding deforestation on the island, and the hatred that exists between the loggers and the 'Greenies'.

Yes, The Kettering Incident travels at a slower pace, but so do all good murder mystery series. If you like other murder / police procedural / mystery shows such as Broadchurch, the Killing or Top of the Lake, then give The Kettering Incident a try.

A very different type of show, although I watch a lot of mysteries. The setting for the show is beautiful and adds to the mystery. I always love when a show is filmed in a locale that I'm not familiar with, as in this case. I was so fascinated that I did an online search for more facts about the locale, because there are times it has really breathtaking cinematography. I don't understand the really disparaging reviews. I don't agree and really got into the show. In other words, I was hooked and couldn't wait for the next episode or even the next minutes. I think the acting is very good and there are interesting twists with hints of the supernatural or sci-fi along with mystery, drama, crime, which are the three descriptive categories under the title, added by IMDb. I normally don't enjoy seeing anything with sci-fi or supernatural elements but I liked this one very much. Don't get put off from seeing it for those elements. I think you'll enjoy it and get engrossed in the story.

I'm rarely sold by ad campaigns but this one got me early, and I'm grateful. Clea's rendition of Crimson and Clover played dreamily over glowing lights and floating moths as the traliers expanded over the weeks until we glimpsed some of the nightmare to come last night. Woods and Krawitz exploit the Twin Peaks mountains and forest locations, the camera rolling at magma pace over a gorgeous slate-filtered Tasmanian backdrop. There's even something of the early X-Files atmosphere to this, made modern and Australian as a deeply intelligent script drip-feeds character and back-story in creepy and surreal flashes. As good as it is, this show belongs to Elizabeth Debicki, who is on career-making form as the disheveled and twitchy Dr. Anna Macy. A far cry from her American-accented turn as the Bond-girl-like Jed in the Night Manager, Debicki's nuanced Thin White Duchess performance pitches perfectly between vulnerable and unsettling. Delivering her lines in low, cultured tones and frequently shot as an unmoving silhouette framed in door or window frames, or in centre close-up (that scream is a visual and auditory shock) this is compelling stuff indeed. 9/10.

Anna Macy (played by Elizabeth Debicki) is a highly-regarded doctor, working at a hospital in London. Suffering from frequent headaches and other ill-health, she returns to her home town of Kettering, Tasmania. She left the town under a cloud 15 years earlier after her best friend Gillian disappeared. Back now, she finds that the old animosities remain. Moreover, the strange phenomena that accompanied Gillian's disappearance remain and another girl has disappeared.

Started very intriguingly. There was a slow-burning intensity about the main plot with some interesting sub-plots. Elizabeth Debicki put in a solid performance in the lead role and the supporting cast were fairly good too.

The series did seem padded, however, but I figured that it would soon ramp up the pace and the payoff would be worth all the effort.

Sadly, no. The pace never quickens. The whole thing just drifts throughout. As for a payoff, the conclusion is convoluted, random, confusing and anticlimactic. It all seems set up for a second season, though apparently this is a mini-series.

Disappointing.

I'm glad I didn't read the other reviews before I started watching The Kettering Incident because I'm absolutely hooked! I just stumbled upon it and I'm so glad I did. I personally find it to be an intriguing balance between what is revealed and what is held back in each episode. What some reviewers find "slow paced" I just find to be good mystery and tension.

This certainly isn't the only crime show from Down Under I've enjoyed. I was a big fan of "No Activity" (which was a comedy, so quite different from this) and "Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries" is one of my favourite shows. But as a Canadian, I really have to rely on the internet to access Australian shows, and I don't always hear about them. I'm glad I came across this gem!

The tone and pace reminds me a little bit "Wallander" (I've only seen the British version with Kenneth Branagh), but perhaps with a supernatural twist? I haven't finished the series yet, so I'm not really sure what the "answer" is. Can't wait to find out though!