The Narrow Road to the Deep North

I didn’t read the book so I had no preconceptions. The series stands on its own as a powerful statement of survival during wartime, and ALL of the conséquences of war, long after the last shots were fired. The most profound and astounding message here is that love still exists even in the most horrific and sorrowful of times.

Really moving and impactful. The performances were really great and carried the miniseries. Elordi is really darn great as Dorrigo Evans. He gives such a layered and nuanced approached to Dorrigo, who is a truly complicated man; even before the war. He really shines in the restrained moments during the POW scenes, really honing in on the character’s despair and hopelessness. He does a great job at showcasing how resentful and angry Dorrigo feels about his circumstance and even himself, while still at the camps. Elordi also has great chemistry with Young and DeJonge, helping to draw a line between the pre and post war Dorrigo. Ciarán Hinds is really great as the older Dorrigo, showcasing an immense amount of shame and survivors’ guilt, albeit too strongly at some points; coming across too cold and unconcerned. I really have to shoutout Thomas Weatherall for his moving performance as Frank Gardner, as I feel he has not been discussed nearly enough and was truly the heart and light of the POW scenes, while Elordi represented a lot of the pain and grief of that experience. The only issue I had with the miniseries was the relationship between Amy and Dorrigo. Odessa Young is great in the role, but I feel as though I didn’t really interpret it as this an epic love story. The connection is palpable and understandable, but to me it felt more like two lonely and insecure people finding each other when they really needed to, not an epic love story. Jed Kurzel created a fantastic score. Overall, would highly recommend for the important story and truly great performances.