“Territory”Netflix
Seemingly endless expanses, sparse and wild vegetation, blazing sun, people in cowboy hats, a huge herd of cattle. Unwary observers might think they had stepped into a classic Western. But the animals are not driven forward by men on horses, but by a truck, motorcycles, quads and a helicopter. And the action doesn’t take place in western North America, but in northern Australia. More “Mad Max” than “Hell on Wheels” in other words. Nevertheless, “Territory”, the most complex Australian Netflix production to date, can rightly be described as a neo-Western.
With just under 250,000 inhabitants spread over almost one and a half million square kilometers, the Northern Territory is one of the extremely sparsely populated areas in the civilized world. You can only survive outside of the few cities through mutual help and the saying “Here everyone knows everyone” takes on an almost literal meaning. An unusual setting that Ben Davies and Timothy Lee chose for the six-part drama series. A location that provides fascinating images, which director Greg McLean and cameraman Simon Duggan make extensive use of. The camera repeatedly flies over vast steppe landscapes, waterholes with wild animals and mythical-looking rock formations. However, the plot is much more conventional.
The focus is on the continent’s largest cattle ranch, Marianne Station, and the Lawson family, who have run it for generations. At the top is patriarch Colin Lawson (Robert Taylor, “Justified”), a man who is as tough as he is stubborn. Right at the beginning of the opening episode, his favorite son Daniel dies alone in the wilderness (whether anyone helped remains to be determined). The natural heir and successor would be the older son Graham (Michael Dorman, “For All Mankind”), whom the father despises and considers too weak (and not just because of his alcohol problem). Graham’s wife Emily (Anna Torv, “Fringe”), who seems to wear the pants in the marriage, is a Hodge native – and the Lawsons have long been enemies with the family.
Must assert herself in a man’s world: Emily Lawson (Anna Torv) Netflix
There’s more than a hint of “Dallas” wafting through the script here. Not only does Colin, who acts brutally and without empathy even towards his closest relatives, remind him of JR Ewing, the family constellation around Emily and Graham also brings to mind Bobby Ewing and the Barnes daughter Pamela. There is also another motif known from numerous (soap) stories, that of the prodigal son. Graham’s offspring Marshall (Sam Corlett) – Emily is just the stepmother – decided years ago to live as an outsider and goes about his own business with his boyfriend and girlfriend far from home. This includes, for example, stealing alligator mothers’ eggs and selling them to a zoo. He returns to the station for his uncle’s funeral and suddenly finds himself in the middle of the power struggle for the company.
There is also a mine on the land that brings other players into the game. According to Australian law, the area is managed by the farm (the white people), but actually belongs to the Aborigines. It is certainly one of the series’ plus points that the perspective of the indigenous people plays an important role. Not only do numerous of them work on the station, including the so-called Elders have a crucial function within the social structure.
Ambitious daughter-mother duo: Susie (Philippa Northeast, left) and Emily Netflix
Apart from these Australian specifics, the series largely follows familiar lines, although the character drawing and plot are unfortunately more reminiscent of soaps than serious drama series. In addition to the disappointing son and the lost grandson, there is also the ambitious granddaughter (Philippa Northeast), the chubby brother-in-law (Dan Wyllie) and various love interests with dubious intentions.
But the real center is Emily Lawson, who married. With Anna Torv she was cast as the internationally best-known Australian series actress. She was just seen as an exiled writer in the great Leonard Cohen series “So long, Marianne” in the ARD media library. As a farmer’s wife with a Stetson and tight jeans, she seems a bit lost and her mostly pinched facial expression seems to reflect the question of why her dialogue sentences are so thin. The rest of the cast is solid, but not outstanding either.
Power figures: Patriarch Colin Lawson (Roger Taylor, right) in conversation with an Aboriginal elder Netflix
“Territory” is always strong when it relies on the power of the images and the specificity of its setting. A sign at the entrance to what is probably the only saloon in a settlement in the middle of nowhere states that T-shirts must be kept on during your stay. Both the aerial shots of landscapes and the action scenes are excellently filmed. Netflix clearly didn’t save on the budget here. The script, on the other hand, largely seems as if an AI had put together well-known set pieces from relevant family dramas and soaps. So this attempt to ride the wave of success of the “Yellowstone” franchise is reasonably entertaining, but overall not very convincing.
This text is based on the viewing of the first two episodes of “Territory”.
My rating: 3/5
The six episodes, each lasting around an hour, have been available on Netflix since October 24th.
