what are you talking about
In the Australian outback, miners, landowners, cowboys and gangsters compete for the world’s largest cattle station.
who is he with
Calling him a small screen icon doesn’t seem like an exaggeration. Fans of the series discovered it with Fringe. But in recent years, Anna Torvi became known to the general public for Mindhunter, then for the first season of The Last of Us allows her to return to the main actor in her native Australia.
The 45-year-old actress brings all her talent and natural charisma to the role of Emily Lawson, a seasoned ranch hand torn between loyalty to her son-in-law and the ambitions of the birth clan.
However, the latter works to guarantee her husband, Graham Lawson (Michael Dorman), an inheritance that is due to him due to his status as the eldest son, but which his father, who only sees in him, refuses. incompetent drunk.
The patriarch of the Lawson clan, which has owned the Marian Station ranch for five generations, is played by Robert Taylor. Better known for his television work than his film appearances (known to Matrix fans as Agent Jones), the latter notably played a leading role in the detective series Longmire.
After a standout appearance in Vikings: Valhalla, Sam Corlett – who also appeared in The New Adventures of Sabrina – lends his qualities to Marshall here. The son of Graham Lawson from his first union, the latter maintains a conflicted relationship with his family, and particularly with his grandfather, Colin.
Is it worth seeing?
Australian western dubbed Western Meat Pie. as well as Spaghetti Western Italian, this subgenre has its own codes that distinguish it from the traditional American Western. In the process of rewriting a previously highly politicized history, Australian Westerns have since modernized their approach, particularly in their representation of Aboriginal people.
Don’t beat around the bush. If we compare the series of the new territory with Yellowstone, it is not accidental: the formula that made the western with Kevin Costner a success is reproduced here almost identically, although its action is transferred to the Australian Outback, and not to the heart of Montana. .
A soap opera that lives up to expectations
From there to accusing the area of plagiarizing Yellowstone, there is a chasm we will not cross. Let’s say that the starting point of the series is the same: the elderly owner of the family ranch, after the death of his son, faces the greed of wealthy developers, who in his eyes represented the ideal heir.
Therefore, what these two programs have in common is that they are westerns set in our time, but also family soaps. Each character has a dark side, and each episode allows us to learn more about each person’s past.
This narrative development allows the plot to develop at a sustained and tense pace, and the audience’s interest is regularly rekindled by clever script revelations.
In this sense, Territory does its job well as a soapy western, and this serial ambition gives it our tolerance for its scriptwriters, its sometimes shallow dialogue, or even the stereotypical personalities of its main characters. Having Dallas in the Outback is what we’ve come to expect from this series.
A western that leaves us hungry, but for good reasons
The natural environment of the series offers a magnificent panorama of northern Australia, whose dry climate and dangerous wildlife do not make it a very popular place for tourists.
Aesthetically, the show doesn’t have much to criticize, except perhaps the “Mad Maxian” shots of Colon – a nice homage to the George Miller film, but somewhat off-topic.
Few Netflix series now display this mural-like ambition, making excellent use of the narrative potential offered by the television format. Its six episodes are insufficient to tell us a story worthy of the name, and therefore we can only hope that the platform trusts the territory for a few more seasons.
Will the area be as successful as Yellowstone? This is unlikely because the bar is simply too high. But viewers will have the luxury of not having to choose between the two series, one and the other, which create a complementary whole. Therefore, their comparison is inevitable, but their confrontation will be irrelevant.
All six episodes of Territory’s first season are now available exclusively on Netflix.
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Source: Allocine
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
