The Tourist feels entirely refreshing with its hybrid genre, embracing the high-stakes, edge-of-your-seat exhilaration while also adding flairs of genuine comedy.
From the writing team behind anthology drama The Missing (2014 – 2016), Jamie Dornan makes his return to the small screen with a stylish mystery. While Dornan is perhaps best known as Fifty Shades of Grey’s smooth-talking, refined businessman Christian Grey, many fans will recall his time in a career-defining role in crime-thriller The Fall (2013 – 2016). Dornan played Paul Spector – an elusive serial killer targeting women around Belfast. Now, Dornan is back to his roots with equally ambiguous, thrilling six-part Australian drama The Tourist.
Known only as The Man, Dornan is introduced as he drives through the outback, carefree and living his best life as he sings to Kim Carnes’ Bette Davis Eyes. This is a guy who knows how to have fun. His impromptu karaoke session is cut short, however, when a truck driver veers him off the road and eventually t-bones his car.
It is clear that The Man is not all that he seems. There are some skeletons in his closet, but what exactly could such a happy-go-lucky looking guy be hiding? The mystery begins immediately as The Man awakens in hospital with no memory of who he is or why anyone may be after him.
The series dives straight into the action. These opening scenes set up the rest of the series as a promising and genuinely intriguing thriller. As The Man grows increasingly delirious, audiences join him in uncovering an intense plot that keeps everyone on their toes. In what kicks off as an identity quest turns into something much darker – including the revelation of a mysterious man buried alive in the middle of nowhere. Along the way, Dornan’s character is joined by peculiar counterparts, some of whom share a connection to The Man and aide his desperate bid to solve the puzzle.
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One of the biggest surprises of the series is how cleverly funny it is. Amidst the gritty, violent and nail-biting drama, there are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments that charter the territory of absurdity. They draw the focus back into reality, creating an air of authenticity with each of the characters.
The comedic timing is perfect and plays off naturally opposed to feeling shoehorned in as a cheap gag. Dornan and co-star, Danielle Macdonald, have a particularly joyful chemistry together and share more than a few humorous scenes. The pair bounce between one another affably as MacDonald portrays (arguably) the only wholesome and honest character, Constable Helen Chambers.
The Tourist maintains a well-balanced, compelling tone throughout the entire series. Dornan gives a fantastic performance as The Man loses grips with his own identity. The drama feels entirely refreshing with its hybrid genre, embracing the high-stakes, edge-of-your-seat exhilaration while also adding flairs of genuine comedy. The mystery of The Man’s identity and background ultimately proves to be a satisfying adventure.
Rating: 4 out of 5
About The Tourist
After being run off the road, a man wakes up in an Australian hospital with amnesia. A single clue starts him along a frantic journey to remember who he is and why someone wants him dead. In the small town of Burnt Ridge, any news is big news, and not everyone can be trusted. Shifting alliances, uncertain connections, and dark truths lurk just within reach, as the harsh conditions of the Australian outback set the stage for a painful reckoning.
The Tourist is streaming now on HBO Max.
