"When a man wakes up in the Australian outback with no memory, he must use the few clues he has to discover his identity before his past catches up with him."

OUR REVIEW:

Between this and Zac Efron’s stint in the forthcoming Gold, the Australian outback doesn’t seem to be selling itself as the most enjoyable places for handsome, international actors.

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That being said, Jamie Dornan’s amnesiac adventures in the new mini-series The Tourist are at least a little more exciting than the sparse, deathly black experience that consumed Efron.  For starters, he manages to crack a smile every so often, he’s supported by a well-rounded ensemble of Australian talent – including the always delightful Danielle Macdonald (French Exit, Patti Cake$) – and, even though he may or may not be the nicest of characters, he’s just so damn charming that we can’t help but be pulled into the mystery.

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A six-part series that wastes little time in setting up its narrative hook, with Dornan’s nameless character – simply known as “The Man” – waking up in a small Australian town’s hospital unsure of who he is or why he’s there, The Tourist takes a certain delight in the poor bloke’s misfortune.  It would almost seem cruel too if it wasn’t suggested that he had something to do with the show’s central mystery surrounding a man buried alive in a barrel.

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Additionally, the beefy American Billy (Olafur Darri Olafsson) and the theatrical Kostas (Alex Dimitriades) enter the fray as the no-question-about-it villains, lacing the episodes with a certain intoxicating menace that furthers our investment as to just what exactly Dornan’s Man has done.

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At only 6 episodes, The Tourist is the epitome of the “binge-worthy” televisual format, each episode never dragging on longer than it needs to and consistently dropping nuggets of intrigue so when the credits roll, you’ll want to keep playing to watch it unfold.

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As an Australian I can confirm that, yes, whilst some of the accents here are strong, it’s a pretty sound depiction of small town Australia, but please don’t think that because bad things happen to foreigners here that it’s the correct representation overall. You best believe that if Jamie Dornan was in my town with no memory, I’d be taking advantage. For the sake of entertainment, I’ll allow this mystery to unfold, and hopefully international audiences will too.