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REVIEW: Mostly based on “an unbelievably true story’, Three’s latest Kiwi drama looks set to provide plenty of entertainment – and dark laughs – over the next six weeks.
Far North (debuting at 8.35pm tonight on Three) is a rollicking, character-filled retelling of a motley quartet of would-be Tongan-Australian criminals’ attempts in 2016 to complete a deal with one of the world’s biggest drug cartels (“they’re so good the cops have never heard of them”, the foursome’s leader Thugga [Mose Alipate Latailakepa] enthuses, before suggesting the big boss is “like Pablo Escobar and El Chapo made love and made an Asian baby…only he’s not a baby, he’s the man”.) by collecting and selling a half-tonne of meth due to arrive in New Zealand’s Northland via a boat which has already set sail from Hong Kong.
Due to mechanical problems, the gang’s impatience and inability to keep a low-profile and locals like diesel mechanic Ed (Temuera Morrison) and his aqua-aerobic instructing wife Heather (Robyn Malcolm), things rapidly start unravelling and the life-changing payday they all dreamed of starts turning into a dangerous nightmare – especially when the fearsome and notorious drug-lord they’re dealing with dispatches a fixer to speed things along.
Director and head writer David White (Meat, This Town, Shihad: Beautiful Machine) does a terrific job of weaving together the story’s three strands, expertly switching between the all-female Chinese boat crew, the would-be drug dealers and the increasingly bemused residents of Ahipara and Kaitaia.
A opening teaser hints at the high-tensions and stakes to come, before we’re whisked back just over a month to the excitement of the disparate crew as they map out the execution of their supposedly flawless plan and share how they’re going to spend their cut.
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Robyn Malcolm and Temuera Morrison play wife-and-husband Heather and Ed on Far North.
As we quickly learn just how badly prepared, ill-equipped and “spatially challenged” they are (having failed to purchase a van big enough to carry the generator they need, the driver then proceeds to amuse both Ed and fellow mechanic Justine [Karen O’Leary] with their less-than-precision driving: “That fella get his licence in a raffle,” Ed mocks), we know there is going to be plenty of action and hilarity to come.
As well as offering a terrific opportunity for two of our most beloved actors – and early Shortland Street stars – (in Morrison and Malcolm) to share prime-time screen time together, Far North also provides a fabulous showcase for younger and less well-known talents like Villa Junior Lemanu (The Panthers), Maaka Pohatu (Wellington Paranormal), John Paul Foliaki (Red, White and Brass), Xana Tang (Fresh Eggs), Nikita Tu-Bryant (Avatar: The Way of Water) and Louise Jiang (Homebound 3.0).
It might not quite be Aotearoa’s answer to Ozark, but it certainly has enough going for it to keep you hooked.
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Mostly based on “an unbelievably true story’, Three’s latest Kiwi drama looks set to provide plenty of entertainment – and dark laughs – over the next six weeks.
A story that makes great use of its small town and rural New Zealand location, Far North is a Kiwi crime caper that successfully marries a style and swagger Guy Ritchie would be proud of to solid storytelling that will likely have you desperately searching out news reports from the time and keeping your Monday nights free until the end of September.
Far North debuts on Three at 8.35pm tonight (Monday, August 14). Episodes will also be available to stream on ThreeNow.
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