A wild land, on the North coast of Australia. The Lawson’s family owns “Marianne”, the world’s largest cattle station, as vast as Belgium. This empire is managed by a man, Daniel Lawson. But when he dies unexpectedly, rivals waiting to destroy or buy Marianne will attack from all sides. The family is far from united. Colin, the grandfather, is a hard and cruel man, feared and despised. Graham, Daniel’s brother, is alcoholic and weak. Emily, his wife, is strong and efficient, but she comes from a rival family and still struggles to be accepted. Marshall, Graham’s son from a first marriage, left and rejected the family. Susie, his young half-sister, seems to be the only one able to embody Marianne’s future. Facing numerous threats and disasters, the Lawsons will have to unite in order to survive.
Pride and sacrifice…
It was a challenge for me to understand the psychology of this modern -and much better- version of Dallas. I live in a city, I’m a vegetarian and very dedicated to sustainable ways of life. How could these cowboys be so ignorant of the modern world, so desperately attached to their old habits ? How could they be ready to anything, including killing, to keep their property ? The answers lies probably in the introductory sentences : “everything up here is trying to kill you. The climate. The land. The animals. But you learn to live with it. It makes us who we are”. These people sacrificed so much to live on their land -breathtakingly beautiful, by the way. They cannot fathom to give up on it. In an hostile and violent environment, people are bound to become defensive and violent.
I wasn’t totally convinced by the “vendetta” part of the script : rival families fighting against each other. I was much more attracted to aboriginal characters’s part of the story. What was also interesting was the generational conflict that runs through all the groups. Between the elders, the middle-aged and the young ones, three opposing visions. What is life about ? Power and property, consolidating what you have, or improving it and finding purpose ? No one is totally clean here, and there are many wrong choices, but very few good ones.
1 season, 6 episodes (55 mn), 2024, on Netflix
Great casting !
- The Lawsons : Anna Torv (seen in Secret City) as Emily, Michael Dorman as Graham, Robert Taylor as Colin, Sam Corlett (Vikings Valhalla) as Marshall, Philippa Northeast as Susie
- The other families : Sara Wiseman as Sandra Kirby, Joe Klocek as Lachie Kirby, Dan Wyllie as Hank Hodge, Conor Merrigan-Turner as Ethan Hodge, Jay Ryan as Campbell Miller
- Aboriginal people : Clarence Ryan as Nolan Brannock, Hamilton Morris as Uncle Bryce, Tuuli Narkle as Keeley Redford, Tyler Spencer as Dezi
- Marshall’s friends : Sam Delich as Rich Petrakis, Kylah Day as Sharnie Kennedy