Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
Cast: Natalie Dormer, Lily Sullivan, Lola Bessis, Harrison Gilbertson, Samara Weaving, Madeleine Madden, Inez Curro, Ruby Rees, Yael Stone, Philip Quest, Marcus Graham, James Hoare, Mark Coles Smith, Don Hany, Anna McGahan, Bethany Whitmore, Mayah Fredes, Alyssa Tuddenham, Kate Bedford, Markella Kavenagh, Johnny Pasvolsky, Emily Gruhl, Neil Melville, Nicholas Hope, John Flaus, Tom Hobbs, Aaron Glenane, Roslyn Gentle, Lee Cormie, Kate Box, Kaarin Fairfax, Sibylla Budd, Bruce R. Carter, Felix Johnson, Charlotte Steenbergen.
There is arguably nowhere on earth which holds the kind of spell over the imagination of all who even see a well preserved picture of the interior, let alone the lush freedom that is on offer, as Australia; it is a bewitchment, one drawn from both the exotic touch of the landscape and of the chance, even in the modern world, to reinvent yourself, to lose yourself and never be found again, unless you want to be.
It is in that dichotomy of spirit, of the evil that lurks in the bush and the almost mystical elements, the lore and the legends, that make the country such a rich picking for the story-teller, and one that got under the skin of Joan Lindsay enough to create the suspenseful, and thought based on fact, novel Picnic At Hanging Rock in 1967 and one who in turn has influenced greatly the six-part reinterpretation shown on the B.B.C., written by Beatrix Christian and Alice Addison, an adaptation which feeds into the psyche superbly of the search for mystery and the need for explanation; an answer which might not be necessarily forthcoming.
What this particular reworking of the classic novel manages to convey is the story behind those who were left behind, the psychological breakdown of Hester Appleyard, the fixation of the girls as they look to their older companions for reassurance and young girlish love, and the townspeople to whom suspicion of the school and the relationships forged is heightened after the disappearance.
Whilst a work of fiction can bring illumination to the reader, the wonderfully paced ambiguity of Picnic At Hanging Rock is such that to enlarge the story in such a way, to show the reactions to the strange occurrence at the monolith on the outside of town and the effect it has on time and the actions of those near it, is undeniably both genius and calculating.
Natalie Dormer’s performance as the owner of the school deserves much praise, the wayward spirit of the once London waif and orphan is shown in context of being a woman at odds with her surroundings at all times, never at ease with the lies she has been forced to tell in the name of her own safety and that of creating an image of British gentility in the most inhospitable of environments.
With superb support from the likes of Yael Stone, Lily Sullivan, Samara Weaving and Inez Curro, the miniseries comes alive and could be seen as enhancing the reputation of the story, a near impossibility when the viewer realises just how effective and enduring the novel is.
A classic retold and one that does not suffer under the weight of the past, Picnic At Hanging Rock is one adaptation that goes further than most and still has that beautiful ending of doubt attached to it; a joy of television in a barren desert of dull offerings.
Ian D. Hall