Black Snow (2022– ) User Reviews

Slow at first, but got better as it went on

[garyvines-01290 · 8/10 · 4 August 2023]

I needed something to fill the "walking dead" gap in my life and since none of the spin offs or other series are currently airing, I thought I'd give this one a shot. So basically, I watched it because nothing else better was on.

This show explores a 1994 unsolved murder of a high school girl in Australia, after the time capsule is opened in 2019 and new evidence of her murder is uncovered. A troubled cold case FBI agent (Fimmel) asks to be assigned to the case and the show follows him re-opening the investigation and some old wounds in the process.

I'm American and wasn't familiar with the plight of the Australian South Sea Islanders and had to look up how to refer to that group of people to not be offensive or insensitive. Compelling stuff to learn about and interesting that the U. S. isn't the only nation that had a past with nefarious dealings when it comes to capitalism.

I wasn't familiar with any of the actors, though I had caught glimpses of Travis Fimmel when my family watched Vikings, (I didn't watch). The way Fimmel portrays the troubled agent is weird at times. He or the character vacillates between awkward and annoying to dark and troubled. He does this eye bug thing and moves his head in a weird way sometimes when he's being intense, that conveys the emotion but makes me think he's drunk.

Some of the acting is good, some not, I do find that I'm starting to like the Izzy Character and the teens from the 90s more than the adult versions. The kid who plays Hector as a child reminds me of me when I was that age so I added him to my favorite actors list

I say, if you liked "Twin Peaks (seasons 1 and 2), murder mystery and don't have any other shows to watch right now, get into this one. It may pan out to be more interesting for now, it's worth watching even though it's a little "made for TV" in appearance and acting and there are a bit too many bomb shells and red herrings for me to believe anything that starts to show up as a lead. We'll have to see.

UPDATE: This resolved nicely and came together. I liked it more as it went on. Go ahead and watch this knowing there are some issues with acting but the story resolves nicely.

two things to remember

[A_Different_Drummer · 7/10 · 1 January 2023]

Two things need to be made clear off the top. First, Australia continues to be world-class in the production of series drama, and Black Snow is no exception. Two, Travis Fimmel is one of those rare actors whose breakout performance (as Ragnar) was so strong that he may be spending the rest of his career trying to prove that Vikings was no accident. In this production, he wears horn-rimmed glasses and has a number of quirks. However, as a successful "cold case" detective -- one who solves cases no one else can -- his boss cuts him a lot of slack. As expected, this gives him room to use his considerable skills to flesh out a character that keeps the attention for the full length of the series. The story is a police procedural -- something the Aussies excel at, check out MYSTERY ROAD -- that is sparsely directed, yet effective at maintaining the suspense. Recommended. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))

Better than it looked like being

[Peekupz · 7/10 · 3 January 2023]

I was fairly worried at the start. The first scenes of Izzy were as unsympathetically shot as possible. Then the introduction of Travis Fimmel's character had me thinking uh oh this is going to be over the top.

Fortunately it got better pretty quickly once the action moved to the North Queensland location.

There were still some quite annoying flaws in the depiction of the characters over the 25 year timeline. Some of the actors seemed to have aged about 5 years tops. While others like Hazel were realistically completely different.

Maybe got a bit too "Broadchurch" in the middle episodes. But the resolution wasn't awful.

BTW. Couldn't help noticing in an extended scene in the video shop where the victim worked in 1994 that there were numerous unrented copies of Elaine Paige's Cats film. Perhaps it was because that film wasn't released until 1998.

Okay but the over acting is too much at times

[efd-10467 · 7/10 · 6 January 2023]

An interesting backdrop and plot, Travis Fimmel acts his part well adding a touch of class that exposes some of the others.

The character Hazel is written in such an annoying manner, I learn't to really dislike her and wanted to skip her angry monologues.

The scenery is spectacular and technically this is a good production, in 2 other areas though it falls down.

The big one is the support actors, keen to be 'good' they way over act, their movements are too fluid and their speech is wooden, some of the lines are delivered like bricks being dropped from a second story, at times it is like one big Year 12 play.

Next is the occasionally bizarre soundtrack, the 'spooky' music is overdone and every now and then a noise just occurs against the vibe of a scene, it's an attempt to jolt the viewer (I think) but often it just sounds odd and amateurish.

Amazing

[gallagherkellie · 9/10 · 2 January 2023]

I might be biased as I'm an Aussie, but I'm saying that I usually prefer British crime shows. This one however, lived up to expectations. I've been seeing ads for it for a while now and I was really hoping it wouldn't be a let down...and it wasn't.

The scenery is beautiful (filmed in QLD), the main actor is incredible in his performance. Most of the acting is really well done, there are a few people who you can tell may not have acted before but they still did well.

The plot was easy to follow and full of twists. I was gripped the entire time, I watched the whole thing in one day! I had it partially figured out mid-way through but that didn't spoil anything as there were still plenty of surprises and interesting things happening. Even shed a year.

Highly recommend!

Strange Aussie show with a bit of cringe acting

[o_s_k_r · 6/10 · 22 February 2023]

This isn't going to be a thorough review. But some points: Why is Travis Fimmel's character always smirking and flirting? It's really not appropriate for a detective in a small town. It's like he's a big kid, not serious at all.

However Fimmel's acting is still lightyears ahead of the female lead (Hazel). She just manages to play it wrong in every scene. I understand her character is complex and difficult, so I'm not without sympathy. But her role needed a much more qualified actor.

Some of the other actors also aren't great, although worth noting that the young cast is pretty much flawless and all the problems are with the older actors.

There's some big cracks in the story too. There's a lot of red herrings and unresolved plot threads. What happened to Chloe and her corrupt father? Was there any justice for them? What's with the baby that the farmer abruptly has in the last episode? How come that baby didn't grow up to be a character in the town? What the heck was with that?

There's also some character twists and turns that are hard to swallow and painful to watch. Would Anton really chase down Izzy immediately after abusing her and making out with Tash? Why was Izzy so hot and cold with Anton? Her moods seemed quite arbitrary. Would Hazel really have kept her daughter's father hidden all those years? There didn't seem to be much motivation there. Also why was she so consistently cold to her own daughter?

One other problem I noticed is that she hid the passports in the van, and was literally sitting in the van with Chloe moments after telling Ezekiel she was going to get the passports. Yet she didn't think to collect them.

I gave it a five for a good effort.

Absolutely beautiful mystery

[thom-gillespie · 9/10 · 7 January 2023]

Everything about Black Snow rings true: the dialog, the acting and the setting, which means if you are looking for Jason Bourne or Jack Ryan go elsewhere. But, if you start this series all you will want is more story and watching will quickly become binging to see what story is just over the hill or on the other side of the sugar cane field. This is a cold case drama set in Australia among native peoples which unfold in the present about the past. The screen loves all the actors but two stand out: Travis Fimmel, as Cormac, the very slow talking and walking cold case detective driven by other demons, and Talijah Blackman-Corowa as Izabel Baker, the victim. Talijah Blackman-Corowa as the young Izzy owns the eye of the camera with her acting skill and beauty.

If I compared this story to anything I'd compare it to the writings of Sally Rooney but with more things that go bang.

Highly recommended.

Slow and confusing

[yahaira-729-694701 · 6/10 · 3 April 2023]

I stuck with it until the end it does work as a thriller but its confusing to follow the chain of events in retrospect are all jumbled up. I felt everyone had motive or they were covering things up like her sister. It seems like the story gets off course at times. The small town rivals, the exploitation of the indigenous people as seen through the eyes of Izzy. Her boyfriend turns out to be emotionally traumatized by the events at the high school formal. He confesses that he is the father of Kal and Hazel. The ambiguous sister Hazel fears the true story of her sister's death, one wonders if she is the killer? The field hands boys are murdered by his racist father Victor who covered up their deaths witnessed by Lizzy that was the reason for her death. Its a good murder mystery just slow and convoluted and confusing to follow. Travis Fimmel as Kromack carries the movie but his own pain around his father is not revealed clearly or well. The last scene is confusing, who is the guy he is watching that is in the interogation room?

Well rounded, beautifully shot

[Movieguru1970 · 9/10 · 1 January 2023]

One of the more difficult things with regards to a story line with so many different character arcs is to keep each as interesting as the other. There wasn't a single time where I would shut off with different characters on screen; all interesting as the next. Travis Fimmel was exceptional along with his supportive actors and actresses. Even the younger versions of the characters were extremely good, which can be difficult to pull off. The only problem I can really think of is that about a few eps in, the suspect pool isn't necessarily the entire cast - however the killer is still extremely difficult to predict due to the amazing drip fed style of writing. All in all a very well done series with an absolute stellar sound design (and tracks).

Aussie TV continues to rise.

Bad acting ruins potential.

[philip-03318 · 6/10 · 8 January 2023]

I'm sorry, but the bad / over acting just destroys this show. I'm talking about the support cast. How did the crew not pick up on this during production. This must have been obvious and surly it was pointed out but obviously they must have been too deep into filming to address. It's not just the odd scene but the continuity of bad acting that becomes bigger than the story. There is absolutely no heart in the delivery of these lines by what must be very inexperienced actors.

The dialogue between supporting actors is so weak and most times confrontational for no reason. Absolutely no social cues or awareness in any delivery of these lines.

Worth watching just to witness how bad it is.

Doubt they will use this material as part of any CV.

Sorry.

Great Australian film making

[kkeane-68234 · 9/10 · 1 January 2023]

Loved Travis in this! My favourite of his work so far.

Real Aussie style drama, loved the backdrop country Nth Qld and the really nicely tailored imagery and camera work. Story line was simple but captivating, I literally had no clue who it was till the end, love it when that happens!

Character development was well done and the timeline jumps were easily defined, even though this had the potential to be problematic as there was a constant back and forth, it was handled very well. I watch it all the way through on New Year's Day morning after watching the first sunrise for 2023!

A great way to start a new year. Great work.

Too long

[walterc-75191 · 7/10 · 11 February 2023]

I enjoyed it but it was a tad too long and could have been condensed into perhaps four episodes rather than six.

I loved the inclusion of the historical facts about the 'workers' brought in from Vanuatu. As an Australian I'm mortified that I did not know about this. I'm in my sixties and so am aware to some extent of many, many historical omissions that were not taught in our educational system, but this floored me.

There were a good few plot holes and weird things - eg, what was the point of the Mackay detectives? One scene and then no mention of them? Did I miss something there?

Otherwise, a good series and kudos to Stan for making a show about a culture that is little known in the wider aspects of this home country.

A not bad story.

[harril-586-26745 · 5/10 · 2 January 2023]

Hats on to the genius who created the annoying smashing drums motif throughout the first couple of episodes. Hopefully his/her music career in movies begins and ends here. Travis Fimmel brings star quality to a character quite unworthy of his talent. The only other actors not bringing a 'now I'm reading a script' performance are Brooke Satchwell, Anthony J Sharpe and Gulliver McGrath. This whodunnit show was definitely watchable but I found it necessary to suspend belief at the crummy acting so I could eventually find out who the murderer was. Unlike other series in this genre there were never any cliffhangers compelling the viewer to want more.... but hey I stuck with it till the end because of Cormack's intensely interesting back story.

Undecided

[C-Diggety-Dawg · 6/10 · 21 January 2023]

I am still undecided on this one.

Travis Fimmel's performance was great, but it seems they went with a bunch of non-actors for all the islander roles and I'm sorry but it shows. There was some very poor acting on show here, to the point that some of the scenes with Isabelle's family were painfully stilted and took me right out of the story.

The murder mystery was engrossing enough to keep me watching until the end, but must admit when the killer was revealed in the final act it was a bit anticlimactic.

I am curious now to find out more about the protagonist's missing brother and his relationship with his father.

A solid murder mystery set in northern Queensland

[Tweekums · 9/10 · 27 September 2023]

In 1994 seventeen year old school girl Isabel Baker, a member of the South Sea Islander community, was murdered in Ashford, a small town in northern Queensland. Twenty five years later a time capsule containing letters written by school children is opened and read. Isabel's letter talks of serious issues in the town and fears that it could get her killed. James Cormack, a cold case detective asks to be put on the case. When he arrives in Ashford he gradually uncovers secrets and lies. Friends and family are amongst the suspects.

I thought this was a really interesting series. It has a great central mystery where just about everybody could be considered a suspect of the murder or possibly covering it up. The effective use of flashbacks means that we see the events of 1994 around the time the truth becomes exposed in the present. The location is great with vast sugar cane fields dominating the landscape creating a fine atmosphere. The cast does a fine job; this includes members of the local South Sea Islander community who aren't trained actors. The story also highlights the history of this community; something I was entirely unaware of before. Overall I'd definitely recommend this to fans of murder mysteries.

Not too bad

[mmiceli0924 · 7/10 · 7 January 2023]

Travis Fimmel ( excellent), goes to this sleepy Aussie town to solve a cold case of a young girl, Isabel, who was murdered. The mostly indigenous town, has been aware of this case that haunts them. The senior high school Izzy, took place in this " time capsule" burial in 1994. This was the only hokey part of this story 4 me. But, it allows Cormack/ Fimmel to find clues.

You need to pay attention to the kids in high school, circa 1994, to present day.

I need to say, the fantastic acting of many indigenous actors, especially Izzy's mom and grandmother. So, real. Fimmel, young Isabel and older Hazel, are great. Also, great Brooke Satchwell ( Mr. In-between).

What a great production!!

[shellycs-940-843901 · 9/10 · 7 January 2023]

I usually am not a fan of Aussie productions even though I'm an Aussie. But this was amazing. So many twists and turns...the storyline was fantastic. I changed my mind on who did it about a dozen times. It was so well written that it kept you guessing right to the very end. I binge watched the last 3 episodes as I couldn't stop watching it. I'm a big Travis Fimmel fan and he doesn't disappoint in this one...what a great performance he did. I thought all the actors were brilliant to be honest and was great to see so many of Australia's best in this series. Really enjoyed this one and highly recommend it.

Flawed but Likeable

[simonwoodwrites · 7/10 · 7 September 2023]

I enjoyed this series, but it's not great. The story is intriguing, but it is pretty flawed in several areas. The story doesn't feel fully fleshed out. There are a load of storylines that just peter out or don't get tied off. The detective's paying people to rough him up over the guilt over his brother being abducted as a kid never gets addressed after the initial scene. Several of the suspects are underserved--like Hector. He's interviewed once and his character never comes back. As others have said, there are a lot of red herrings and there's no way a viewer can work out who the killer is because the viewer is never given all the information to make a guess. Several of the characters are frustrating because their behavior runs hot and cold all the time. It needed a better wrap up as so much is left unsaid. Like the small town head cop was hinted to have taken bribes and botched the case. Nothing comes of that. The killer's motive kind of comes out of nowhere and isn't clear because nothing is hinted at earlier. The exploitation of workers is never dealt with. Even little details like the missing persons playing cards aren't addressed. Izzy's playing card should've been taken down like the detective did at the start for one of his other cases. I thought the show had been trimmed for US TV but it doesn't seem so. It's just weird how the show just feels unpolished. I'd like to see a second season but the storytelling needs to be tightened up a lot.

Refreshing and engrossing

[messyjez · 9/10 · 1 January 2023]

I tend not to be a great fan of Australian TV drama series, but this proved to be a breath of fresh air.

It's consistently engaging and rarelly drags as a well-created, and intriguing, plot leads to the denoument over six episodes - a great binge-able length! Although the climax might be seen as a little clumsy, it doesn't detract from the quality of the series overall.

The acting is generally excellent, particularly from Jemmason Power and Talijah Blackman-Corowa, with a good script and great cinematographhy in the cane fields of North Queensland.

Although I often find time-shifts to be very frustrating, the moving back and forth between the time of the murder, 25 years ago, and today proves to work seamlessly.

It also manages, in a moving way, to draw attention back to the appalling legacy of "blackbirding", or the effective enslavement of tens of thousands of South Sea Islanders in rural Australia, particularly Queensland.

Highly recommended!

Good Plot, Terrible Over Loud Incedental Music Noise

[peteingram · 7/10 · 9 November 2023]

I really enjoyed this series. It has a good plot with sevral mini sub-plots. ALl good. I like Aussie TV serials and have rarely seen a bad 'un. The main plot is basically a who dun it and the whole plot revolves around who killed a young girl. The main cop character is himself complex with his own set of problems. The main characters are well filled out and easy to relate to.

THE MOST ANNOYING part on this whole series was the awful loud banging noises that pass for incedental music. I really wish that the producer had not allowed this as it spoils many scenes. Apart from that I liked it. Bad music too.

Better then expected

[claireandhannahg · 10/10 · 8 January 2023]

Okay, so I only heard of this show today, randomly looking through Stan, and wow I'm so glad I found it.

Firstly most of the acting is very good from some of our Star Aussie actors & actresses, from our favourite old Aussie classics and some new amazing faces.

This show, highlights some true issues regarding Australia's pasts i.e blackbirding, which before this show, I never really knew much about.

The storyline of the show was incredible, and the plot twists were not seen until the unfolding of the last episode.

I recommend this show highly, I understand it's not everyone's cup of tea and that's fine, but watch it with an open mind and an open heart.

I'd love to see a season 2 following the rest cormacks story (without spoiling, as shown in the last scenes of black snow)

Before being critical regarding this show, please help support Australian cinema.

[5.8] The soporific "drummy snow" in Ashford

[cjonesas · 6/10 · 5 December 2023]

A super boring beautifully made Australian crime drama series highlighting (their) culture, the South Sea Islanders brought forcefully for labors in the 19th century and early 20th and chunks of their lives, young and old, in the 1990s and 25+ laters.

It is well-developed, laced with Valium screenplay and storyline plots in the span of 6 episodes, therefore more than dragging and fillers-full and could have been 2-3 episodes shorter, with much better plots, "arcs", pace, without that unneeded, unthrilling, terrible drum-like crazy percussive noise disguised as "musical" sound, more importantly brighter and especially sharper.

The acting though average to good, is nothing special, the flow, vibe and to some extents the logic are horrible and if you watch the first 2 episodes and then the last, you don't lose nearly nothing at all.

Beautifully made with important points, but sleep-inducing as a crime drama laced with mystery.

• Screenplay/storyline/plots: 5.5
• Development: 8.5
• Realism: 7
• Entertainment: 4
• Acting: 6.5
• Filming/photography/cinematography: 8
• VFX: 5
• Music/score/sound: 5.5
• Depth: 6
• Logic: 4.5
• Flow: 4
• Crime/drama/mystery: 5
• Ending: 6.5.

Not as interesting as I expected

[puredaydream · 5/10 · 8 January 2023]

The bads:

1. I've never watched Travis Fimmel in any other project so I'm not sure if he looked drunk throughout the entire show because of his personal acting style or because of the role. It almost felt like the actor himself was drunk.

2. It started with an interesting idea but gradually got more and more boring. The ending was anticlimactic for me. I expected more of a plot twist or maybe a more shocking/twisted reason as to why Isabel was killed. She was killed because she tried to protect those boys and she was found out. Don't get me wrong, it's a perfectly plausible reason as to why she died but not an interesting or suspenseful one. I would have rathered if maybe her father or her sister had killer her instead; that would've been more upsetting but more climactic.

3. The pace was slow. I think they should have condensed it to fewer episodes.

The goods:

1. I really like how they touched upon the slavery/racism problem lots of modern countries like Australia still face in this day and age.

2. The Australian backdrop is wild yet stunning.

3. Travis Fimmel is eye candy.

Subpar acting generally and too long

[catnapbc · 6/10 · 23 February 2024]

While I usually enjoy most Aussie offerings, this series just felt 'flat' to me and I was glad when the first season ended. Having never seen Travis in anything before I can't judge if he can really act or not. Here he was not a believable character to me, nor were most of the other parts. Positives: no excessive smoking or swearing, nice scenery at times and lots of unconventional people participating in this show. Negatives: the overwhelming use of crappy music, the stiff acting by most (apart from a few of the younger ones), the convoluted main crime and too many aide stories, and far too many characters that felt hollow, and most irritating of all, dad the fanatically negative/religious pastor who saw evil in everything and all the time. It just came across as a hodgepodge of trying to cover so many issues with so many people. And it went on for far too long frankly. No thanks to watching season 2. I just didn't 'buy' into any of it really.

Takes you on a journey in solving the crime

[don_juan · 8/10 · 13 January 2023]

Very good show. Some things about it left me scratching my head (e.g. Why the dead person's niece was so angry when she wasn't even born at the time, so never knew her). Among a couple of other things, like a character throwing out the race card, when I didn't even think it was the case.

Apart from that, the show is really good. Travis Fimmel is amazing and plays the character of a tortured soul really well (I saw a little little Vikings style unstableness in the character).

*partial spoiler* Some things like the beating and the self inflicted pain wasn't explained very well, but am hoping they flesh it out better in season2.