Miniseries – Picnic at Hanging Rock

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andrei d 02/21/2020 Needs much more mistery See more Robbie K 02/18/2020 Series Directed by: Larysa Kondracki, Michael Rymer ,Amanda Brotchie Developed By: Beatrix Christian and Alice Addison Cast: Natalie Dormer, Lily Sullivan, Lola Bessis, Samara Weaving,Inez Curro Network: Amazon It is considered one of the most quintessentially Australian novels of all time. The 1975 film adaptation not only helped popularize the Australian New Wave internationally, it also launched the careers of Oscar-nominated director Peter Weir. It takes a lot of guts to have another go at such an iconic property, but somehow screenwriters Beatrix Christian and Alice Addison, along with Larysa Kondracki (director of three episodes and general "creative consultant") pull it off. Weir's 1975 Hanging Rock is considered one of the haziest, dreamiest, most disorienting films ever. The 2018 television adaptation has those qualities too, especially the earlier episodes helmed by Kondracki, but it also embraces the gothic implications of the story. Natalie Dormer fully embraces the gothic femme fatale tradition as a decidedly younger Mrs. Appleyard than the Weir film has accustomed us to. Yet, she is terrific casting withering stares and dropping barbed comments. Watching her lord over Appleyard College is deliciously entertaining in the manner of vintage Hammer Films. the voluminous flashbacks featuring the missing students (and their wayward teacher Miss McCraw) quite effectively and intriguingly deepen the story and strengthen the character development. They also explain how what was quite haunting as a one hundred-minute film can hold up and maintain its atmosphere of mystery over six fifty-some-minute episodes. Hanging Rock 2018 could very well catapult the twentysomething central trio of Lily Sullivan, Samara Weaving (niece of Hugo), and Madeleine Madden to international stardom. In a way, they are archetypes who together make a whole. This time around, the underclassman Sara Waybourne is played by the conspicuously younger (and talented) Inez Curro, which makes the dynamics of her hero-worshipping relationship with Reid much more logical and believable. Among the grown-ups, Lola Bessis nicely counterbalances Miss Appleyard's evil eye as French instructor Mlle. de Poitiers, who emerges as Hanging Rock's gothic heroine. All six episodes were lensed by cinematographer Gary Phillips, giving the series a consistent, evocative look. The rock itself is quite an eerily beautiful locale. Indeed, throughout the series, viewers can palpably feel how the secluded environment and oppressive Australian heat could drive anyone a little mad, especially when combined with raging teenage hormones. No matter how highly you regard the 1975 classic, the 2018 Hanging Rock will still pull you in and propel you to binge the entire series. Very enthusiastically recommended, the new Picnic at Hanging Rock See more 01/13/2020 Watch the Peter Weir movie instead of this. That film is made by people who understand visual storytelling, film, narrative, characterization.... basically everything of value. See more 07/24/2019 A surreal gothic noir set in Victorian 1900's that leaves you with a sense of breathlessly uncomfortable suspension as the mystery unfolds and we get to know these girls after the fact. It can be slow at times, but well worth the wait. See more 03/10/2019 Samara Weaving is a terrible actress...how does she get work? See more 03/01/2019 meh....the ending spoils the whole series. all the mystery and questions we as viewers want answered are left unfulfilled. dont waste your time. See more Read all reviews

Picnic at Hanging Rock — Miniseries

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