Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10

Cast: Eve Hewson, Eva Green, Himesh Patel, Marton Csokas, Ewan Leslie, Erik Thomson, Callan Mulvey, Benedict Hardie, Richard Te Are, Matt Whelan, Matthew Sunderland, Joel Tobeck, Gary Young, Paolo Rotondo, Byron Coll, Mark Mitchinson, Yoson An, Errol Shand, Kieran Charnock, Chelsie Preston Crayford, Jed Brophy, Emma Sloman, Cameron Rhodes.

There are so few lands left to explore here in Earth, that we must look to the stars and other realms in which to spread our wings as a species, but we do so in the knowledge that we will always be limited by our imagination, and the inability to keep the sacred nature of what we find, pure and unsoiled.

When we think of the ways that Europeans, especially the British, have found ways to steal the land from the indigenous people of distant lands, we perhaps naturally deliberate on the what was once termed The taming of the Wild West, and if you were brought up on old films, were inspired by the idea of cowboys and Indians, then perhaps you might have actually read some history in the meantime and learned of how various European Governments and settlers have destroyed a once rich and vibrant culture. The same could be said of Australia, anywhere in Africa, and beyond, but we don’t tend to think of the furthest place from our own shores, that of New Zealand, the people who went to mine for gold and the harsh environment they imposed on themselves and the distinctive Maori people.

It is to that environment that The Luminaries, directed by Claire McCarthy, and adapted by Eleanor Catton from her own best-selling novel, that the strange tale of Anna Wetherell comes alive, and with it the use of astrology as a defining marker and bridge between the western culture who landed and sought to scour the Earth for gold, and that of the traditional and respectful Maori people.

In typical B.B.C. fashion, the balance between drama and historical intrigue is hard fought for, but in The Luminaries, it goes deeper, the insistence of the six part story is one that is complimented by the approach of the director, and the excellent cast which have worked together to produce a tale of intrigue and truth, one that acknowledges the indigenous rights on the land by the use of the native tongue when describing the scenery, but also the depths which white European culture, especially the British at this time, was ready to run roughshod over the likes of the Chinese, women, and anything that was different, all in the name of Empire.

The historical backdrop of the aftermath of the Opium Wars, which plays its own part by allowing the viewer to see the first-hand effect on the psyche and disposition of the man character’s use of laudanum and the opioid effect, is clearly identified, and whilst primarily the series is one of a murder mystery set in the time of the gold rush, it takes on the overall form of historical reference, of showing the viewer the tirade of abuse offered the minority, the prostitution, the gaming, the sideshow of humanity as they struggle to make the Earth yield its secrets.

With superb performances by Eve Hewson as Anna Wetherell, Eva Green as the scheming Lydia Wells, Himesh Patel as the kindly Emery Staines, and Maston Csokas as the belligerent and former convict Francis Carver, and with a script that is delightfully poignant to today’s own struggle of representation and the voice not heard, The Luminaries is a hard-hitting, polished, intriguing, and absolutely detailed, piece of television which must be seen.

Ian D. Hall