Savage River

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.

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.

An above-average crime drama mystery series where everything is too mild, whether believable or unbelievable. The best acting in my opinion goes to Hattie Hook (Ivy) who played naturally and with real charisma, wish everyone played as charismatically and with an enough mix of youth naive craziness & seriousness as her, though second best to her was her mother character Rachel Kennedy.

The screenplay plots are so so, the photography and sceneries the "best" in the show as are various realistic/unrealistic relationships throughout.

In one word, it's mildly recommended, but don't expect anything shiny as in Nordic series.

• Screenplay/storyline/plots: 6
• Development: 7.5
• Realism: 6.5
• Entertainment: 7
• Acting: 6.5
• Filming/photography/cinematography: 7.5
• VFX: 7
• Music/score/sound: 6.5
• Depth: 6.5
• Logic: 4.5
• Flow: 6.5
• Crime/drama/mystery: 6.5
• Ending: 5.5.

I found myself really engaged in this series - you know a great creation when you forget its creators and become completely absorbed in the story and with the characters.

Having said that, what a fantastic cast, and beautiful cinematography. It may have been low budget, but the team really made their dollars work for them. I appreciated the time taken to develop the characters, the storyline, and that every thread seemed to be followed through right to the end. I was suprised and disappointed that Virginia Gay isn't listed in the "Top Cast" here on IMDB's listing for Savage River - she played a very significant role and performed masterfully.

The series held my complete attention right to the end, and I was really moved by the final moments - this was so well done.