AMMAN: An aesthetically striking space-set drama with an Oscar-winning actress in the lead role? It worked for 2013’s multi-award-winning “Gravity,” right?
Netflix’s new series “Away” is no “Gravity,” though. To be fair, it’s really not trying to be — despite the superficial similarities (Hilary Swank plays the lead role, and it’s the story of a tense and exhausting journey through space). “Away” is far broader, for one thing.
“Away” is on Netflix. (Supplied)
That attempt to appeal to a mass audience may be the cause of the show’s two-dimensional character development: The multicultural crew of the central mission to Mars all fit run-of-the-mill stereotypes (even their ‘twists’ are familiar) — Swank’s Commander Emma Green (US) is the tough female leader torn between career and family (a work-life dilemma that quickly gets more complicated soon after leaving Earth); Mark Ivanir’s Misha (Russia) is the grizzled veteran who resents having to obey a woman’s orders; Vivian Wu’s uptight, by-the-book (or is she?) Yu (China) is distrustful of the American commander too, but less demonstrably; Ray Panthaki’s Ram (India) is the group joker and optimist; and Ato Essandoh’s Kwesi (British but Ghana-born) is the posh fish-out-of-water rookie.
Fortunately, all five forge an emotional connection to the audience that a less-talented cast might not have managed, given what they had to work with.
Which isn’t to say the writing is terrible. Despite trying to cram too much in, creator Andrew Hinderaker displays a knack for pacing that keeps you watching. And he at least makes the most of the undeniable drama of space travel — in which the slightest mistake, or just bad luck, could prove fatal — coupled with the inevitable tension between five very different people trapped inside a tin can hurtling through the dark void.
But the flashbacks to the crew’s lives on Earth — when Hinderaker can’t rely on the inherent appeal and wonder of space — see the script cross the line from moving (the scenes when the crew contact their loved ones from space are often genuinely touching) to cloying.
“Away” is, at least, gorgeous to look at. And chances are — since the writers have thrown so much into it — there’s enough here to hold the interest of most viewers. But it could have been so much more.
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