The Tourist (reviewed by Letitia Fitzpatrick)
Local hero, Jamie Dornan is on our small screens in an original television thriller which has given the BBC a New Year hit.
The actor from Holywood in County Down shot to stardom as the sadistic billionaire in the Fifty Shades of Grey films, played a terrifying serial killer in The Fall, which co-starred Gillian Anderson, and more recently, starred in the movie Wild Mountain Thyme.
Sir Kenneth Branagh's semi-autobiographical film Belfast has earned Dornan Golden Globe and Critics' Choice nominations - and potentially BAFTA and Oscar nods, too.
Now, he is very compelling in The Tourist. Set in the Australian outback, it has more twists and turns than an Aussie highway, with car chases thrown in for good measure, and a hero who loses his memory.
It’s the latest offering from successful writers Harry and Jack Williams who penned The Missing, Baptiste, Liar and Angela Black.
Dornan is trying to work out why he was chased by a truck which runs him off the road, as he drives along a deserted highway. However, he seems more resigned than shocked by this. Next thing we know, he wakes up in hospital and can’t remember who he is.
It’s not a very serious thriller which brightens up our screens in these dark times. The cop investigating Dornan’s case is a rookie, Helen, played convincingly by Danielle McDonald.
As Dornan tries to piece together his identity, it becomes clear that he’s not just your average tourist in Oz. And the viewer wonders if he’s a good guy in the wrong place at the time, or a criminal with a dark past. The plot thickens, in a funny and stylish way, as the relationship between Dornan and the policewoman develops.
The series also stars Shalom Brune-Franklin, an English-American actress known for playing Private Maisie Richards in the BBC series Our Girl, Umm Khulthum in The State and Aoife in the Australian series Doctor Doctor. She starred as DC Chloe Bishop in all seven episodes of BBC One's Line of Duty, series six (2021).
For Dornan, playing someone who doesn't know themselves was a unique experience, which he describes as a journey of discovery. He found it weird not to have a clear back story and that also attracted him to the script.
All six episodes of The Tourist are available on the BBC iPlayer.