Baz Luhrmann has reimagined his 2008 movie Australia with the new Hulu show Farawaway Downs, but how different are the two versions of the epic drama?
Summary
- Faraway Downs deepens the indigenous presence with a bigger Aboriginal role in front and behind the camera.
- The show has a longer run time, with an extra hour of new footage allowing for more time with characters and expanded relationships.
- The narrative is primarily told from Nullah's perspective, shifting the focus and highlighting the scars left by the Stolen Generations.
Faraway Downs contains a number of noteworthy differences that set it apart from Australia. Fifteen years after the release of Australia, Baz Luhrmann's sweeping tale set in the remote Northern Territory is back. Faraway Downs retells the epic love story, with Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman returning to the ambitious new six-part show. Billed initially as a critical and box-office disappointment, the Oscar-nominated filmmaker has re-edited his 2008 melodrama into a story for Hulu, adding nearly an hour of new footage and a completely different ending.
Set shortly before the start of World War II, Lady Sarah Ashley (Nicole Kidman), an English aristocrat, heads to Australia to force her husband to sell his struggling cattle ranch called Faraway Downs. After her husband’s murder, Lady Sarah enlists the help of a local driver (Hugh Jackman) to protect the property from a greedy cattle baron. While the main plot and the central romance are largely the same, Australia and Faraway Downs are far from identical.
8 Deepen The Ingenious People's Presence
Bigger Aboriginal Role In Front and Behind The Camera
The Faraway Downs team focused on amplifying Indigenous representation, with Indigenous artists animating the opening credits and a soundtrack that better honors First Nations.
The Faraway Downs creative team intentionally tried to deepen the indigenous presence in the show. Indigenous creatives animate the opening credits, and the soundtrack does more justice to the First Nations. The additional runtime of the show is dedicated to spending more time with Aboriginal characters, expanding the real-life tragedy of their treatment during the era. Faraway Downs doesn't shy away from depicting the pain of The Stolen Generations. As explained in the opening crawl, the show depicts the forced abduction of native and mixed-raced Aboriginal children who were snatched from their families and sent to live in "white society."
7 It Has A Longer Run Time
An Extra Hour Runtime
Faraway Downs consists of six chapters ranging in duration from as little as 25 minutes to 50. The full Hulu series clocks in at three hours and 44 minutes, whereas Australia runs for two hours and 45 minutes, meaning an hour of new footage has been added. The added run time allows the writers to spend time with new characters and expand on existing relationships. Critics have praised Faraway Down's episodic storytelling. The new format allows viewers to better digest the characters and events in a way a three-hour film could not achieve.
6 Slowed Down Pacing
More Time Exploring Characters And Narratives
The idea to revisit unused footage from Australia came during the pandemic when production on Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis was shut down. The director started looking through scenes left on the cutting room floor, which inspired Luhrmann to expand the story, better identify the major themes, and slow down the pacing. The director has referred to the show as a more complete version, allowing the epic to breathe a little more.
While the narrative is essentially the same, there are still unexpected plot twists with the added hour of footage adding different layers and nuances to the epic love story. Lady Sarah still travels to the Australian outback after inheriting her husband's cattle ranch upon his death and still falls in love with Jackman's Drover. The episodic format allows Luhrmann to take more time to explore their connection slowly.
5 Told From Nullah's Perspective
The biggest difference between Faraway Downs and Australia is that the show primarily focuses on Nullah's (Brandon Walters) perspective. While Australia opens with voice-over narration from Nullah, Faraway Downs is reframed around the young character and their experiences. Nullah is the Indigenous child brought up amid the Australian government's Draconian racial policy, who links Lady Ashley and The Drover.
The film was always intended to shine a light on the roles of First Nations people, albeit alongside a romantic drama.
One of the threads that inspired Baz Luhrmann to reimagine Australia was the idea of it being Nullah's narrative. The film was always intended to shine a light on the roles of First Nations people, albeit alongside a romantic drama. Faraway Downs better represents the scars left in Australian history by the Stolen Generations.
4 It Has An Updated Soundtrack
New Title Music And Soundtrack Has Been Added
Faraway Downs has an all-new score by Kara Talvee for Bleeding Fingers Music with additional music by Felix Meagher and Angela Little. The title sequence, which Waringarri Aboriginal Arts created, is paired with a new theme song by Budjerah and Matt Corby. Director, Baz Luhrmann also chose to revisit the music with many new, young Indigenous artists for the soundtrack, including Electric Fields and Budjerah.
3 Lady Ashley Is More In Control
Nicole Kidman's Character Is Less Reliant On Men
Lady Ashley, played by Nicole Kidman, has a shift in her narrative arc. Her character is an aristocrat who is forced to leave her comfortable life in England to chase her philandering husband. In Australia, the Oscar-winning actress's performance was criticized for being over-dramatic and hammy. In Faraway Downs, her aristocrat is less reliant on her romance with The Drover and is a little more independent. Faraway Downs turns High Jackman's The Drover into a supporting character and gives Kidman's Lady Ashley more urgency. The new ending created by Luhrmann for Faraway Downs also sends the narrative in a whole new direction.
2 Expands The Drover's Relationship With His Brother-In-Law, Magarri
Faraway Downs expands The Drover’s relationship with his brother-in-law, Magarri (David Ngoombujarra). The added hour of footage gives the audience more time with supporting characters. While Australia heavily focuses on Lady Ashley's relationship with The Drover, Faraway Downs uses the new storytelling format to delve into other relationships. One of the more touching relationships that is given time to breathe in Faraway Downs is The Drover's friendship with Maggari, his late wife's brother. The expansion of this relationship makes the ending even more emotional.
1 Develops Its Characters More
Added Scenes Adds Character Development
Baz Luhrmann has admitted he was shocked, looking back at how disjointed and compressed Australia's final cut was. By editing the film into a six-part series, the Oscar-nominated director concentrates more on each character. In Faraway Downs, Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman have a more Katherine Hepburn/Spencer Tracy-inspired dynamic. The new footage shows Lady Ashley's conflict with staying overnight and the build-up of the pair crossing the Kuraman.
Another character whose role is given more depth is King Carney (Bryan Brown). In the film, his death is quick and off-screen. Audiences don't see his death, nor the incident with Nell Fletcher (David Wenham) which leads to his demise. The new cut explores Fletcher's sociopathic qualities and what led to him taking Carney out. Ben Mendelsohn and Essie Davis, two actors who have found international success since the film aired, also have expanded roles in the Hulu show.
Faraway Downs is currently streaming on Hulu.
