Picnic at Hanging Rock - TV Series Review

Picnic at Hanging Rock - TV Series Review

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Posted 2023-12-21 by Jennifer Muirheadfollow


This 2018 series is based on the 1967 novel of the same name by Joan Lindsay about a group of schoolgirls and a teacher who mysteriously disappeared in 1900 while visiting Hanging Rock, or Ngannelong, in central Victoria. It stars Natalie Dormer (from Game of Thrones and Elementary) as Hester Appleyard, the mistress of the finishing school the girls attend.

Natalie Dormer as Mrs Appleyard.


It's been a long time since I read the novel, or saw the 1975 film, so it's possible I am remembering wrong, but this version seems to make Hester Appleyard more of a central character, giving her a mysterious backstory. This adds some more possible explanations or red herrings regarding the disappearance of the schoolgirls and their teacher. I think the sexuality of the teacher, Miss McCraw (Anna McGahan from The Doctor Blake Mysteries) was spelled out more clearly in this version.



Natalie Dormer is wonderful as Hester, haunted by her past and alternately cruel and sympathetic to the girls. Samara Weaving is brilliant as (from Mayhem ) is the haughty heiress Irma, abused by her stepfather and dumped at boarding school by her disbelieving mother. Madeleine Madden (from Tidelands and The Wheel of Time) as Marion and Lily Sullivan as Miranda have a wonderful chemistry, and Inez Currõ is heartbreaking as the poor little orphan Sara.

Inez Currõ as Sara.


Yael Stone (Orange is the New Black) plays Miss Dora Lumley, the fanatical mistress of Deportment and Bible Studies who torments the girls, especially young Sara. Other threats come from outside the college, like the soldier who corners Miranda in the stables and the two mysterious riders at the rock. And then there is the ever-present worry about what to do when they finish school, since Marion, being Aboriginal, can't hope to find 'the kind of husband she deserves' and the free-spirited Miranda would rather be back on the cattle property where she grew up than married off to a virtual stranger.

Lola Bessis as Mademoiselle Dianne de Poitiers.


The series is beautiful shot, with some scenes looking like something out of a musical. In the scenes at the rock the beauty and terror of the landscape really stand out. I was lucky enough to visit Hanging Rock some years ago, on my Honeymoon, and I think this series really captured the atmosphere of the place, so bright and still, except for the endless shrieking of the cicadas.

Picnic at Hanging Rock is a visually stunning period drama with a deeply disturbing mystery at its core. It's a wonderful adaptation that brings new life to the story.

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More articles by Jennifer Muirhead:
Ghost Wars - TV Series Review
The Fall of the House of Usher - TV Series Review
Picnic at Hanging Rock - The Observatory Theatre
83669 - 2023-06-11 06:44:19

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