This is a padded and showy, even pretentious, version of the tale, a far cry from the classic novel or haunting 70s film. The writing fills in details that were merely hinted at in the book, but the murder backstory, bisexuality and sex-toy subplots serve merely to dispel the air of mystery with an excess of information, not to mention blowing away the novel's subject-matter of suppressed emotion. The casting is spectacularly bad, with headmistress Mrs. Appleyard far too young, while the senior girls, who should be turning 18, are portrayed by actresses in their mid 20s. Miranda and Irma should clearly have been playing each other, while the posh British roles are taken by Australians who sound more ill than English. Although better than the casting and direction, the script is not great either, with gratingly anachronistic references to "night terrors" and the big bang theory, first laid out in the 1920s. The attention-seeking synth soundtrack is overused and intrusive, and there is barely a shot that is both static and horizontal, making the whole more like a quick-cut trailer or pop video than a drama series. Sadly, not nearly enough is made of the spectacular Australian landscape, which should have been the real star. It could still be edited down, minus the music, to a half-decent TV movie, although some of the actors might have to be re-dubbed.
Review of Picnic at Hanging Rock
