It’s a common complaint among TV critics that some shows would have been better as movies, and similarly, film critics often believe that some movies would have been better as TV shows. In that context, Hulu’s Faraway Downs presents an interesting experiment.
The miniseries is not a brand-new drama, but rather Baz Luhrmann’s expanded take on his own 2008 epic film, Australia. It includes about an hour’s worth of previously unused footage, including a reworked ending. If the goal was to restore the reputation of a film that received mixed reviews upon release, the series unfortunately falls short. Mostly, it serves to demonstrate that a change in format can only accomplish so much.
Faraway Downs’ six-episode season runs approximately 25-50 minutes per episode, including credits, and closely follows the plot of Australia. In 1939, with World War II looming, Lady Sarah Ashley (played by Nicole Kidman) travels from England to Australia with the intention of selling her late husband’s ranch. However, upon arriving and learning of her husband’s recent death, she decides to take over the business herself. Along the way, she falls in love with the gruff drover (portrayed by Hugh Jackman) responsible for wrangling their cattle, as well as with Nullah (played by Brandon Walters), the half-Aboriginal boy who resides on the property, and ultimately with the land itself.
While some of the added material in Faraway Downs helps to smooth over details from the original film, it doesn’t necessarily introduce any revelatory changes. The most significant difference occurs in the closing minutes, where the series opts for a different, and arguably better, ending than the movie. This adjustment adds a welcome note of bitterness to the sentimental story of Australia. However, the series still fails to address criticisms regarding its depiction of characters of color, particularly the Aboriginal characters, who are still portrayed as one-dimensional archetypes.
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Furthermore, the racial politics in the series feel queasier in 2023, especially when compared to projects such as Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, which made a conscious effort to center the pain of the indigenous community. In comparison to the film, watching Faraway Downs on the TV screen reveals the thinness of the characters and the lack of intimacy and nuance in their relationships. The grandeur of Australia, which felt sprawling in a movie format, is lost in the transition to a TV show, despite gaining a few extra minutes and additional details.
In conclusion, Faraway Downs falls short of restoring the reputation of Australia and highlights the limitations of simply changing the format of a story. The series struggles to address and rectify the criticisms of the original film, particularly in its portrayal of characters of color. While the new ending adds a welcome bitterness to the story, it still fails to fully address the issues with the racial politics of the narrative. And in the transition from film to TV, the grandeur of the original movie is lost, leaving the series feeling limited and lacking in the character depth and compelling storytelling that would be expected of a TV show.
