Jamie Dornan’s turn in The Tourist will make you forget about Christian Grey
With the Belfast star in the driver’s seat, HBO Max’s six-part series piles on the twists, turns, and the occasional acid trip
TV Reviews Dornan
It takes a big person to admit that they were wrong, which makes it so hard for an actor to shift the established opinion of them within the culture and critical establishment. It seems that HBO’s The Tourist may just do something truly Herculean, and make all the Jamie Dornan naysayers admit he’s actually a pretty good actor.
Not that people were without reason to doubt Dornan’s talents. When he first came to international attention, it was as Christian Grey, a kinky but bland billionaire in the 50 Shades trilogy. Those films were never considered high art, but have aged like warm milk, along with Dornan’s comments that he researched his role as the serial killer in The Fall by stalking unsuspecting women. But credit where it’s due—Dornan now joins the ranks of Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, and former co-star Dakota Johnson as a person who made interesting choices after their franchise ended and looks to become one of our credible millennial actors. The actor delighted audiences in recent hits like Barb And Star Go To Vista Del Mar and Belfast.
This six-episode HBO Max series starts with one of the great tropes of melodramas—total amnesia befalls a handsome stranger after a terrible car crash, leaving him unable to remember so much as his own name. A kindly rookie police officer named Helen (Danielle Macdonald) takes pity on him and hopes to help him recover some, if not all, of his memories. Armed with nothing more than a note with a restaurant name and a time, the man sets out on his quest to figure out who he is and what he is doing in the remote Australian outback. To say much more would spoil much of the fun, and boy, is The Tourist fun. Some of the early twists follow may well-worn paths, but there’s no way to predict the roller-coaster ride ahead.
Macdonald gets to use her native Australian accent to play a character with parallels to Fargo’s beloved Marge Gunderson, a folksy moral compass whose instincts prove invaluable. But where Marge was a well-respected detective in a loving marriage, Helen can only dream of the same. She is undermined both professionally and personally. One of the most enjoyable supporting characters is her spectacularly awful fiancé Ethan (Greg Larsen), who shames her for eating burgers, complains about her desire for high thread-count sheets, and labels her ambition as “delusions of grandeur” (which he repeatedly mispronounces). Even in a world of abundant brutality, it’s not hard to want a little more of it pointed in Ethan’s direction. It’s a credit to Larsen’s performance that he creates a man so intolerable, it’s worth continuing watching just for Helen’s inevitable realization that she’s far too good for him.
Though a good breakup is reason enough to stay engaged, The Tourist also does great cinematic work in its action sequences. We open with the amnesia-causing incident, where Dornan, driving alone in a dusty compact car through the Outback, singing along to Kim Carnes’ “Bette Davis Eyes,” is pursued by a giant truck. At first, it seems like he’s just come across an asshole driver, but the moment it clicks that this is a many-wheeled high-speed weapon is utterly terrifying. The chase feels more horror film than TV action sequence, a tone that runs throughout the many moments of violence The Tourist puts on screen. Every crunch of bone, severed artery, and choke of breath feels visceral and impressively horrific. Much like Fargo, part of the fun of The Tourist is breaking up humorous moments among sweet local eccentrics with breathtaking cruelty. And those tonal shifts are expertly employed by the supporting cast, particularly Shalom Brune-Franklin, Damon Herriman, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, and Alex Dimitriades, who pack all the intrigue of film noir alongside some great humor and convincing derangement.
Twists aside, The Tourist lags in the middle act, but is buoyed by a distinctly adult tone—there’s a gameness to it that makes the scary, horny, and darkly comic elements work well in tandem. Each twist (and they’re deployed every 15 minutes or so) beyond the second episode lands with full weight, particularly in the final episode where Dornan’s acting chops reach their apex.
It’s hard to imagine that The Tourist will have a seismic impact—the era of excellent television is a thankfully crowded one, and little here breaks new ground. But it’s an absolute hoot to travel down the series’ dusty Australian roads, taking in the trippy, almost Lynchian tangents through fractured minds and broken memories. Anti-hero narratives are familiar for a reason, and The Tourist keeps them as compelling as ever; even when it treads familiar territory, it’s never a bore. The paradigm of TV thrillers may not be shifted, but many people’s perceptions of Jamie Dornan will never be the same.
39 Comments
You’ll never answer the question “what shoots but does not kill?” the same way again.Full of unoriginal elements and plot holes, but I fully agree. It’s great fun.
The opening of Episode 1 reminded me of “Duel”, the tv movie with Dennis Weaver. Yeah a lot of it is stuff we’ve seen before but the actors are so engaging and my God the Outback is gorgeous. The actor who plays the detective was on Justified. He played Dewey Crowe. I knew I recognized him, and was remembering how shocked I was to learn he was Australian back then. I think he was also on one episode of Breaking Bad.
Yes – very clearly an homage to Duel, with added Kim Carnes.
I haven’t seen the Shades of Grey stuff, but this guy was fantastic in The Fall. I knew he was one to watch for then. Kinda wish I didn’t know about the “stalking to get into character” thing.
I have some follow-up questions about that claim. This author suggests that it was routine, and she uses the plural word “women.” But the linked article says that he noticed a woman on a train, got off at her stop, and walked behind her for a couple of blocks. Still creepy, but not enough to pluralize it into “women.”
I agree. Her characterization of it was a bit unfair. Still, it’s kinda creepy. I do like that he said he tried to have a lot of fun on set because it’s unhealthy to stay inside the head of someone so evil. That sounds like a healthy take.
Yeah. Check out his interviews with Cillian Murphy on Youtube. They’re very funny. He seems to enjoy goofing off a bit.
I’ve seen 4 episodes of The Tourist. He is fantastic. As is Danielle MacDonald. She and her character, Helen, remind me of something Merritt Weaver would have done earlier in her career.
Yay!! I love it when this sort of thing happens. Do Liam Hemsworth next!
Put the Hemsworths on the list of actors who did their career massive favors by not taking themselves too seriously. Clooney’s probably the poster boy for this; post-ER he was heading down a path of mediocre pretty-boy roles until the Coens got hold of him.
Clooney’s turning point is slightly earlier when he works with both Soderbergh (Out of Sight) and then Russell (Three Kings) before the Coens make O Brother, Where Art Thou.
Fair point, he was very good in both of those. They at the least leaned into his natural easy charisma.
I think Tarantino jumped the gun on all of them. Not that it was a great role, but it shook him out of the bland-man box two years before Soderbergh. However, Out Of Sight is forever clever, fun, and beautifully shot, while elevating Clooney above generic leading man status, and probably was the reason the “Brothers Coen” Where Art Thou’d him.
It was before that; From Dusk till Dawn w/Rodriguez.
From Dusk till Dawn, Out of Sightn Three Kings…?
When Liam Hemsworth does a joyful musical number or a convincing an acid tripping amnesiac I will be the first to praise him.
I had already forgotten about that when I saw him in Barb & Star, where he was an absolute delight.
My God. That photo of him leaning against that car and gripping that nozzle… Sploosh.He was good in Belfast. Really liked his work in The Fall. I’m glad to see he’s putting more distance between himself and that whole Grey thing. And I’m all for any distraction that involves dusty Australian roads. Bonus for use of Bette Davis Eyes.
I think any thinking person is fully ready to accept “I got paid set-me-up-for-life money to appear in an adaptation of a massively popular book series” as more than adequate justification for taking a role. Especially early in a career when most actors are probably living hand-to-mouth on smaller roles. What that actor THEN chooses to do with their exposure and financial security is what bears scrutiny.
Forgive me. It is my last day and am feeling brazen but I never said he shouldn’t have taken the role just that he is extremely bad in it.
You have a very polite version of brazen. And damn, you too??Anyway, I wasn’t suggesting that you were – just it’s something that seems to affect a lot of actors in those situations (Pattinson and Stewart most notably). And I will absolutely have to take your word for it because I can’t imagine watching one of those films (never mind three).
I’m English! Thats as brazen as I get.No judgement on those who stay but in solidarity with the editorial team the majority of us freelancers are leaving from now on too.
Yeah, I know…as much as the commentariat is bummed to see everyone go, at least it’s not our livelihoods. Again, best of luck.
It’s not like he had a lot to work with. 50 Shades of Grey is trash.
It kind of reminds me of Michael Caine’s comment about starring in Jaws: The Revenge. “I have never seen the film, but by all accounts it was terrible. However, I have seen the house that it built, and it is terrific.”
He’s really good in The Siege of Jadotville which is probably on Netflix.Also I should point out that The Tourist aired in Ireland Britain a few months ago so you should probably watch out for spoilers..
Like another very famous Irish heartthrob, Jamie Dornan strikes me as somebody who needs an edge or a twist to his roles to really shine in them. Give him a generic American accent and put him in the leading role, he comes across as bland and forgettable. Let him cut loose and keep his accent, and he’s a really interesting, bold actor.
Colin Farrell, right?
Indeed. Colin Farrell was floundering in the early to mid 2000s as leading man in films like SWAT and Phone Booth. It seems like after In Bruges showed how funny and off-kilter he could be, he stepped back from big roles in mainstream films to become a really interesting character actor who occasionally takes on supporting roles in bigger films but mostly stars in great or weird indie films.
Colm Meaney?
I never read the books, I saw portions of them on Amazon and they were so laughably bad I couldn’t understand what all the hubbub was about. I’ve read much sexier stuff in other books that are well written.
Barb & Star already accomplished the mission stated in the title.
Greg Larsen is incredible as Ethan. He has a podcast called The Grub which is one of the all time greats.
I’m pretty sure I already forgot about Christian Grey.
So, what’s the relationship to the Jolie/Depp masterpiece?
This is really good, and you don’t laugh at how idiotic it is (Jolie/Depp masterpiece).
REALLY with the positive reviews on this? From the first few minutes where he’s non-chalantly drumming along on the steering wheel until the semi rolls up behind him… to the amnesia plot… to the timid cop who has to SOMEHOW prove herself…
To speak to the poor writing of this 6-hour series… the cop has an eating disorder, which is illustrated by a 5-minute scene in the first ep of her pulling up to a drive-thru… being asked if she wants some cheese-snacks… her refusing… then asking what these cheese snacks are… then having them described to her… then refusing again… then deciding yes, she wants the cheese snacks… all of which could have been illustrated through the visual of an abundance of fast-food wrappers in her car about 2 seconds. (Good thing this story is 6 hours long!)
Is this the first series most critics have seen? It’s laughingly cliched; bordering on the point of parody. There; I hope I’ve saved most of you 6 hours.
I’ve never taken him seriously and frankly never seen him act in anything. But my God, his turn in The Tourist is truly a revelation. Not only a good actor but oozes effortless sex appeal by the gallons. This might be TMI but after every episode i had to jack off. It must be a combination of the role and the fact that he is about to turn 40, because i looked up his pics from his Grey days and didn’t do anything for me. Age really becomes some men.
i was an extra in this and it so much fun. danielle and jamie are so lovely in real life and so professional. the whole team were amazing and im so happy to have been a part of it all